The 2019 Atlantic Hurricane Season is here, and Georgia Power is encouraging customers to be prepared when severe weather strikes. While the National Weather Service predicts a near normal storm season, it only takes one major storm to disrupt daily activities and cause extensive damage to communities.

Georgia Power reminds customers to keep safety first during severe weather and offers the following storm tips:   

Before a Storm:  Stay aware and check the weather forecast before heading outdoors. Check your emergency kit, unplug major appliances and charge cell phones in case you lose power.

During a Storm: Take safe shelter inside a sturdy building away from windows and doors. Avoid contact with conductors of electricity - appliances, metal objects and water.

After a Storm: Never touch any downed or low-hanging wire, including telephone or TV wires that touch a power line. Never pull tree limbs off power lines or enter areas with debris or downed trees as downed power lines may be buried in wreckage. 

In time for hurricane season, Georgia Power recently launched a new and enhanced Outage Map on www.georgiapower.com that makes tracking and reporting outage information on the go even easier. The new Outage Map automatically adjusts to function on any desktop, handheld or mobile device and has direct access to Georgia Power's social media channels for quick engagement with customer service representatives. Additionally, users will now have greater search capabilities with more concise alert information relating to their specific outage.

Additional Georgia Power Tools You Can Use

Outage Alerts: Subscribe to the free Georgia Power Outage Alert service to receive personalized notifications and updates via text message.

Outage & Storm Center: At www.georgiapower.com/storm, customers can sign up for Outage Alerts, report and check the status of outages, and access useful safety tips and information. Customers can also report and check the status of an outage 24 hours a day by contacting Georgia Power at 888-891-0938.

Georgia Power Mobile App: Download the Georgia Power mobile app for Apple and Android devices to access storm and outage information on the go.

@GeorgiaPower on Twitter: Follow @GeorgiaPower on Twitter for storm tips, outage updates, customer service and more.