ATLANTA (AP) – The nation’s busiest airport canceled about 800 flights Monday as a weakened Irma moved from Florida into Georgia, where the governor had declared an emergency a day earlier for the entire state.
The city of Savannah, on Georgia’s coast, was evacuated for the second time in less than a year because of the impending storm, and the National Weather Service in Peachtree City confirmed that Atlanta – more than 250 miles (400 kilometers) inland from either the Atlantic or Gulf coasts – was under a tropical storm warning for the first time.
Spokesman Andrew Gobeil said Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport would remain operational Monday and would continue to monitor storm conditions with the help of the Federal Aviation Administration.
By early Monday, nearly 272,000 customers mostly in coastal and south Georgia were without power after Irma crossed over into the state overnight, bringing high winds and rain.
Thousands of evacuees from Florida have swarmed into Atlanta for shelter as they fled Irma in recent days.