Death toll from Hurricane Helene rises to 25 in Georgia. Latest update from state officials
The death toll from Hurricane Helene has increased again in Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp announced in a Monday morning update on the response after touring the damage in Richmond County.
Among those who died in the storm was veteran firefighter Vernon Leon Davis, from Blackshear, who died when a tree landed on his truck as he responded to the storm. A 27-year-old mother and her 1-year-old twin boys were killed in McDuffie County after a tree fell on their home.
There have been 25 known fatalities in Georgia, Kemp reported, up from the 11 reported on Friday. In the southeastern states Helene impacted, there have been reports of 90 to 100 deaths.
“This storm literally spared no one,” Kemp said.
Kemp has flown over and seen the damage in Valdosta along with McDuffie, Columbia and Richmond counties. Kemp said it was unprecedented to see a hurricane hit Georgia as a Category 2 and leave this level of destruction so far inland.
The destruction looks like “a 250-mile wide tornado” hit the area, he said.
“So many of our fellow citizens are struggling out there,” Kemp said. “We know people are frustrated. We know they are tired.”
Bipartisan support
Officials and crews were working Monday to restore power and deliver resources, Kemp said. The Georgia Supreme Court is issuing a statewide judicial emergency for 30 days for those unable to fulfill a timeline because of the storm.
Kemp had a phone call with President Joe Biden around 5 p.m. Sunday about the devastation. Former President Donald Trump was set to visit Valdosta Monday and get a briefing from state officials, Kemp said.
Vice President Kamala Harris and Kemp were working to connect but have been “playing phone tag,” he said.
Sen. Raphael Warnock visited Augusta Monday, and Sen. Jon Ossoff was in Valdosta on Saturday while Kemp was visiting the area.
The governor has also been texting with Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell.
Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency Director Chris Stallings met with Criswell yesterday while she visited the state.
“We will work in a bipartisan way on disaster relief in this state with our federal, state and local partners,” Kemp said.
An expedited emergency declaration has been submitted, he said.
“This is something that’s very rare,” Kemp said. “But this will help us, and I feel certain it’ll be approved by the president and federal partners.”
Hurricane relief effort by the numbers
Here’s an update on relief efforts, according to Kemp and Stallings, as of Sept. 30:
The highest total of power outages after Helene was 1.3 million
Georgia’s electric member cooperatives have restored 208,645 customers out of the 435,000 that were out at the peak
Georgia Power had 820,000 customers out at the peak and has brought the number down to 370,000
Georgia Power has 15,000 people responding to Helene, and Kemp reports the company has over 5,000 damaged poles and over 9,000 spans of wires that are down
Most state routes are now passable with at least one lane open
Crews repaired 417 traffic signals in the state, but 573 were still damaged Monday.
Officials report thousands of traffic accidents because of damaged traffic lights and urge residents to treat them like a four-way stop no matter the size of the intersection
There are 1,500 members of the Georgia National Guard working with state and local partners, volunteers and others.
GEMA is supporting 361 drinking water sites serving over 1 million customers
The state is working on 78 water and wastewater treatment facilities
Around 520 people are in shelters across the state, and 21,000 meals have been provided to those shelters
There are 328 Verizon sites and 250 AT&T sites are out of service
T-Mobile has 100 sites on generator power only with 5% of its coverage area out
It could take 72 hours for residents to see deployed resources like generators, tarps, water MREs and ice.
Points of distribution offering water, food, cleaning supplies and basic human health needs will begin opening Sept. 30
Thirteen nonprofits have opened as of Sept. 30 to help distribute resources
Georgia residents looking for more resources and information about Hurricane Helene relief can find more information on GEMA’s website.
This story was originally published September 30, 2024 at 12:58 PM.
