Hundreds of personnel deployed in Georgia as Hurricane Helene becomes a Category 4 storm

Hundreds of personnel across multiple agencies have been deployed in Georgia ahead of Hurricane Helene, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp reported in a Thursday news conference.

The storm became a Category 4 hurricane late Thursday afternoon, according to the National Hurricane Center, as it neared landfall in Florida.

Kemp requested a pre-impact emergency declaration from the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Wednesday, he said, and it was granted Thursday morning. The declaration will help get more resources wherever they need to go across the state.

Helene’s size, with a wind field of about 500 miles, makes responding to this hurricane different from storms in the past.

“Instead of deploying a bunch of resources to one part of the state like we normally would do before a storm, we’re expecting to have to deal with debris fields in all parts of the state,” Kemp said.

There have been 250 members of the Georgia National Guard called up, he said, and the state may call up to 500 as needed.

From the Department of Natural Resources, 120 ranger teams, seven task force teams and 24 strike teams have also been called in to respond to needs like clearing roads, conducting water rescues, provide security and deliver critical supplies.

The Department of Transportation has crews embedded across the state to help remove debris, Kemp said.

“If it is not necessary for you to be on the road during and after the storm, please try to stay home,” he said.

There will be a lot of personnel that would need to be moving to get the roads clear once the storm passes, Kemp said, and people on the roads in the way will slow down the progress.

“It’s very dangerous, as well,” he said. “You remember in the last storm, we had a loss of life with the tree falling on a car.”

People should stay off the roads unless they have a critical emergency.

The Georgia Forestry Commission has 10 chainsaw teams and a 42-person incident management team ready to go, Kemp said, and the Department of Corrections has made available 20 chainsaw teams, commercial kitchen teams and a water tanker.

There are also 150 Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents available to help, he said.

Two urban search and rescue teams are stationed in Gainesville and Macon

State parks outside the path of the storm are open to provide shelter for displaced citizens, Kemp said, including pets and animals.

Currently, around 215 Florida evacuees are being housed at state parks.

There are eight Red Cross shelters set up across the state, and 30 Red Cross response teams are ready to put up more shelters as needed.

The state is partnering with utility providers to respond to any power outages, Kemp said, with Georgia Power deploying 10,000 linemen who will be ready to work when it is safe.

“I just want to thank them personally for the great preparation that they’ve done,” Kemp said. “And I know they will be very busy in the days ahead.”

Residents are warned to not touch down or get too close to down power lines, he said.

People should remember to take care of their pets and animals before the storm hits and not during the storm, Kemp said. And Georgia residents should remain alert on weather conditions.

This storm is reminiscent of Hurricane Irma in 2017 because of its wide wind field, Will Lanxton, state meteorologist at GEMA, said during the press conference. He expects the storm to cover the entire state.

“They’re thinking the dollar amount of damage for this storm is going to be bigger than (Hurricane) Michael,” Kemp said.

This story was originally published September 26, 2024 at 6:43 PM.

Brittany McGee

Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

Brittany McGee is the community issues reporter for the Ledger-Enquirer. She is a 2021 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Media and Journalism with a second degree in Economics. She began at the Ledger-Enquirer as a Report for America corps member covering the COVID-19 recovery in Columbus. Brittany also covered business for the Ledger-Enquirer.