Columbus Consolidated Government declares local emergency as Hurricane Helene nears

The Columbus Consolidated Government has made a declaration of local emergency, according to a news release.

The declaration was entered at 3 p.m. Thursday and signed by Columbus Mayor Skip Henderson.

This announcement comes as Hurricane Helene, now a Category 4 storm, makes its way towards Georgia.

Columbus was placed under a hurricane warning by the National Weather Service Wednesday afternoon, the Ledger-Enquirer reported.

Multiple power outages have been reported around the city, affecting over 3,000 customers throughout Thursday, the Ledger-Enquirer reported.

The news release states the emergency declaration will continue, “...until the conditions requiring this declaration are abated.”

Henderson told the Ledger-Enquirer this order helps to provide resources.

“If we were to try to issue that order when we needed the resources there would be unnecessary delays,” Henderson said.

Henderson said the order allows for curfews, to close different areas of the community and order evacuation.

This story was originally published September 26, 2024 at 5:07 PM.