Georgians look for answers in botched snowstorm response
ATLANTA -- Roads in Atlanta are open again, but most schools and businesses remain closed. Two days after two inches of snow and ice paralyzed the city, Georgia's governor admitted he blew it.
Some
of the 2,000 drivers who abandoned their cars during Atlanta's storm reclaimed
them Thursday. Other Georgians went looking for answers.
"The buck stops with me, I accept responsibility for it," said Gov. Nathan Deal, who had defended the state's response for two days. But he admitted Thursday that he had not closely followed the changing forecast.
"I did not know it had been upgraded and a more serious warning had been issued," he said.
At
3:22 Monday afternoon, the National Weather Service put out a winter storm
warning: one to two inches of snow in north-central Georgia. But overnight, at
3:38 Tuesday morning, the update included all of metro Atlanta and its 5
million residents.
Snow
began falling at around 11:00 a.m. Soon after, the governor tweeted a photo of
himself presenting Atlanta's mayor with a portrait as "Georgian of the
Year."
Bogan Mitchell had to abandon his car and walk home on the ice.
"I don't think they took it seriously," he said of Georgia officials. "I don’t think they really considered how bad it could happen to the city, and they were just lax in their response time."
The head of Georgia's emergency management admitted Thursday his agency's lack of planning had been a terrible mistake. He and the governor both promised next time would be different.
