As state agencies ramped up security measures and mobilized to help victims in New York and Washington, office centers shut down and workers who stayed on the job went about their business with an air of uneasiness.

''Everybody is scared,'' said a woman taking a smoke break Tuesday morning outside a complex of three federal buildings in Savannah. ''We're in a federal building, and that's what they're aiming at.''

The woman, who declined to give her name because of her government job, then hurried inside, saying she had a lot of work to do.

The state's emergency and police agencies swung into action soon after news of the attacks broke.

''Of course we're on high alert,'' said Kathy Huggins, spokeswoman for the Georgia Emergency Management Agency. ''People have been training for this sort of thing, as much as possible. ... We live in an age when the impossible happens.''

The attacks came two days before GEMA had planned to begin a training session on terrorism and a mock airplane crash in Pooler, near Savannah.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Vicki Metz said that by midday, the agency had no reason to suspect there was a serious threat inside the state.

''We have received quite a few calls from concerned citizens,'' she said. ''Obviously, we will work with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency handling those calls. We are just keeping our ears and eyes open.''

There was a brief scare in Athens, though, when authorities evacuated the downtown Robert G. Stephens Federal Building and the Clarke County Courthouse, fearing a stolen U-Haul truck parked in front of the buildings posed a threat.

Police and sheriff's deputies closed off the area and combed it with bomb-sniffing dogs before eliminating the possibility of danger and arresting a woman they said had been seen driving the truck.

''With everything going on, you've got to err on the side of doing the right thing,'' said Chief Gene Mays of the Clarke County Sheriff's Department.

The bombings were the top topic of conversation among Georgia lawmakers entering the Capitol on Tuesday morning to continue the Legislature's congressional redistricting session.

Some appeared visibly shaken by the news, as word of the latest developments passed up and down the halls.

After the usual Pledge of Allegiance, members of the House of Representatives stood and sang in unison God Bless America at the suggestion of House Majority Leader Larry Walker, D-Perry.

Later, the state Senate met for just a few minutes. Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor, who presides over the assembly's upper chamber, limited the agenda but said it was important for lawmakers to pursue some semblance of their normal routine.

''It sends a strong message to the people of Georgia that we will not be intimidated,'' he said.

''This is a time for calm - not panic,'' said Gov. Roy Barnes in a written statement. ''Our emergency management officials are well-trained and are closely monitoring what is happening here in Georgia and throughout the nation.''

But elsewhere in Atlanta, one of the nation's most bustling commerce centers, the normally jam-packed downtown business district had begun resembling a ghost town by early afternoon.

Reach Doug Gross, Dave Williams and Walter C. Jones at (404) 589-8424 or mnews@mindspring.com.