ORIGINAL STORY: As Irma bears down on Georgia and metro Atlanta, there are a few things Gwinnett County residents need to know.
1. Timing: Irma, which was downgraded to a tropical storm at 8 a.m. Monday, was expected to hit Gwinnett County en force through Monday evening. It could bring winds in excess of 30 miles per hour, gusts exceeding 45 miles per hour and 3 to 5 inches of rain, threatening to cause flooding, power outages and tornadoes.
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Gwinnett County’s Office of Emergency Management was coordinating with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency and the federal Department of Homeland Safety along with Gwinnett cities, agencies and other departments.
The county’s emergency operations center was up and running.
2. Gwinnett County Public Schools, like every other metro Atlanta school district, was closed on Monday. On Monday afternoon, the system announced it would close Tuesday as well.
3. Gwinnett County government offices were closed Monday as well. That includes courts, trials and other hearings, as well as "all aquatic centers, community recreation centers, gyms, senior centers, plus fields and natural surface trails located in parks," according to a news release from the county.
Trials and hearings were canceled for Tuesday as well.
4. County trash pickup was canceled for both Monday and Tuesday. An updated schedule was no immediately released.
Residents who live in cities that handle their own trash pickup should contact those cities.
5. All Gwinnett County libraries are also closed Monday and Tuesday. Resources are still available at gwinnettpl.org.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
6. Gwinnett County Transit will not run express service routes on Monday. Local bus routes will be available but only until the early afternoon. Click here for a full schedule of cut-off times.
7. Gwinnett's annual 9/11 memorial service at the Fallen Heroes Memorial in Lawrenceville has been cancelled.
8. The Snellville City Council meeting scheduled for Monday night, which would've been the first since Mayor Tom Witts was indicted last week, was also cancelled.
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