The Federal Aviation Administration suspended all departures and ordered all planes in the air to land. By 11 a.m., three diverted aircraft had landed at Augusta Regional, including a flight headed to Nassau, Bahamas.

Walt Dunaway, left, and Keith Edgerley, both of Augusta, watch television coverage of the terrist attack on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington DC Tuesday morning at the Best Buy electronics store in Augusta. MICHAEL HOLAHAN/STAFF

The 35 members of Augusta's Disaster Medical Assistance Team, coordinated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, were notified of the disaster and told they would be working with another team from Atlanta, said Beth Nesmith, the team spokeswoman.

In Augusta, the Municipal Building and the Law Enforcement Center were staffed with marshal's officers and sheriff's deputies as a precautionary measure. Anyone with suspicious packages attempting to enter the buildings was to be stopped. Mayor Bob Young met with other city officials, representatives of the local emergency management agency, law enforcement officers and airport representatives at the municipal building.

The Augusta Chronicle printed 25,000 copies of a special street-sale edition that was out by early afternoon, and 23,000 issues were sold within five hours. Traffic to The Chronicle's Web site increased as people went online searching for information. People gathered in front of televisions in schools and offices to watch the scenes of devastation.

The attacks prompted Augusta State University to cancel classes for the day and USC Aiken called off a week of events celebrating the school's 40th anniversary. Extracurricular activities for schools in Richmond and Columbia counties also were canceled. Houses of worship opened for special services and prayer vigils.

People swamped local blood-donation centers, creating two- and three-hour waits. And those in the area with family and friends in Manhattan waited for word on the fate of their loved ones.

Richmond County Emergency Management Director Dave Dlugolenski was in a training seminar when he found out about the attack on the World Trade Center. His 25-year-old son, Dave Dlugolenski Jr., works as a consultant in an office near the trade center and was in the lobby of the north tower dropping off his girlfriend when one of the hijacked airliners slammed into the building. The senior Dlugolenski waited for more than three hours before learning that his son and his girlfriend were safe.

Karine Cashin's son John was one of the thousands who worked at the World Trade Center. As she watched coverage of the attack on television, the phone rang and she heard her son saying ''Mom, it's John. I'm OK.'' He had not left for work yet.

''We're very fortunate,'' his mother said.

Compiled by Amy Swann, staff writer