ATLANTA — Many of the people evacuating Hurricane Irma are heading to metro Atlanta to seek shelter from the storm.
Severe Weather Team 2's team of five meteorologists will be working non-stop throughout the next few days as Hurricane Irma gets closer to Georgia. Stay tuned to Channel 2 Action News and check back with WSBTV.com as we continue to track the storm's progress and the impact it will have on Georgia.
Several agencies across the metro have announced they are taking in evacuees. Here is a full list:
Georgia Tourism: The Georgia Department of Economic Development's tourism branch has set up an information page for statewide lodging for those looking for a hotel to stay at. Check out their link here for available places to stay.
Atlanta Motor Speedway: The speedway has opened its camping facilities free of charge to evacuees. For more information, contact Atlanta Motor Speedway at (770) 946-4211 or visit www.atlantamotorspeedway.com.
Talladega Superspeedway: will offer a portion of its campgrounds – which will include hot shower and restroom facilities, as well as water hookups on gravel and grassy areas – free to evacuees seeking temporary refuge. For more information click here.
The Red Cross will open a shelter Thursday evening for evacuees in Macon at the Delores A. Brooks Recreation Center (formerly known as the East Macon Recreation Center). The rec center is located at 3326 Ocmulgee E Blvd.
Alpharetta:
The City of Alpharetta will open its Wills Park Community Center as a limited service shelter to serve evacuees escaping Hurricane Irma. The facility, located at 175 Roswell Street, will begin shelter operations at 1:00 PM on Saturday, September 9.
Marietta:
MUST Ministries will be opening its Inclement Weather Shelter Saturday, Sept. 9 for the community at large who may need shelter during this weather event. MUST will remain open 24 hours a day until Tuesday, Sept. 12 or until services are no longer needed.The shelter will be available for families and single women and will have 22
beds available for use. MUST’s will refer single men seeking shelter to our community partner – The Extension. You can call the center for more information at 770-427-9862.
GEMA shelters:
Georgia Emergency Management has set up several shelters across the state. Here is a full list:
• East Macon Park: OPEN
3326 Ocmulgee E Blvd., Macon, GA 31217
• North Macon Park Community Center: OPEN
815 N Macon Park Dr., Macon, GA 31210
• Columbus Civic Center: OPEN
400 4th Street, Columbus, GA
• Westside High: opens at 5 p.m. on Friday
1002 Patriots Way, Augusta, GA 30904
• Waycross High School: opens at 5 p.m. on Friday
700 Victory Dr., Waycross, GA 31503
• Blackshear Trail Elementary: opens at 6 p.m. on Friday
1001 Blackshear Road, Cordele, GA 31015
• Dublin High School: opens at 7 a.m. on Saturday
1127 Hillcrest Parkway, Dublin, GA 31021
• Abraham Baldwin College: opens at 8 a.m. on Saturday
2802 Moore Highway, Tifton, GA
• Leroy Rogers Recreation Center: opens at 10 a.m. on Saturday
315 2nd Street W., Tifton, GA
Open Campgrounds:
• West Point Lake will open Holiday campground to accommodate evacuees from Hurricane
Irma. Registration for a campsite will be handled at Holiday campground gatehouse.
Although not required, evacuees are encouraged to call Holiday campground in advance at
706.884.6818. Please provide some form of identification that verifies they reside in one of
the impacted areas from this hurricane before obtaining a campsite.
Address: 954 Abbottsford Road, LaGrange, Georgia 30240. The park is located off GA
Highway 109, approximately 10 miles west of Lagrange, GA.
Several metro Atlanta mosques will be hosting Hurricane Irma evacuees as well.
On Thursday, the Al-Farooq Masjid in Atlanta shared a list of mosques that will act as shelters or donation distribution sites on its website.
Registration for shelter space, according to the mosque, will become available at 2:45 p.m. after Friday prayers.
Here is a list of addresses for the participating mosques:
Atlanta
Al-Farooq Masjid of Atlanta
442 14th St. NW
Atlanta, GA 30318
Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam (distribution site)
560 Fayetteville Road SE
Atlanta, GA 30316
Cobb County
Masjid Al Furqan
1018 Powder Spring St. SW
Marietta, GA 30064
East Cobb Islamic Center
1111 Braswell Road
Marietta, GA 30062
Gwinnett County
Darul Huda Masjid
2755 Centerville Hwy
Snellville, GA 30078
Masjid Maryam
3650 Savannah Place Drive
Duluth, GA 30096
Community of Bosniaks
950 Grayson Hwy
Lawrenceville, GA 30046
North Fulton County
Hamza Islamic Center
665 Tidwell Rd
Alpharetta, GA 30004
Other Georgia mosques outside the metro region
Masjid Al-Rahman
1235 Peachtree Pkwy
Cumming, GA 30041
Islamic Center of Macon
2131 Vineville Ave.
Macon, GA 31204
Islamic Center of Warner Robins
2501 Elberta Road
Centerville, GA 31028
Islamic Center of Savannah
1030 Dutchtown Road
Savannah, GA 31419
To volunteer with hurricane relief efforts at Atlanta’s mosques,
.
Equine Evacuation Site:
Georgia National Fairgrounds & Agricenter will serve as an equine evacuation site for those in the
line of Hurricane Irma. GNFA has a limited number of stalls available that will be opened to evacuees
on a first come, first serve basis, no reservations will be accepted.
Owners will be required to provide the necessary feed, hay and tack to care for all horses while here.
With the limited number of stalls available, equine owners will need to have a secondary site in case
they’ve met capacity before arriving in Perry.