Governor Nathan Deal has declared a State of Emergency for much of South Georgia in advance of Tropical Storm Hermine:
“Georgia is expected to receive severe weather related to Tropical Storm Hermine through Saturday,” Deal said. “We are working to ensure counties in south, central and coastal Georgia have access to the state resources necessary to prepare and respond when Tropical Storm Hermine enters Georgia. Our Emergency Operations Command will continue closely monitoring this storm and additional counties may be included in this declaration as needed.”
The declaration includes the following counties: Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brantley, Brooks, Bryan, Bulloch, Burke, Camden, Candler, Charlton, Chatham, Clinch, Coffee, Colquitt, Cook, Crisp, Decatur, Dodge, Echols, Effingham, Emanuel, Evans, Glynn, Grady, Irwin, Jeff Davis, Jefferson, Jenkins, Johnson, Lanier, Laurens, Liberty, Long, Lowndes, McIntosh, Mitchell, Montgomery, Pierce, Richmond, Screven, Seminole, Tattnall, Telfair, Thomas, Tift, Toombs, Treutlen, Turner, Ware, Wayne, Wheeler, Wilcox and Worth counties.
I’m sure many will give a slight eye roll and move on with their day. Remember this please: Hurricanes get a lot of attention because of destructive winds. It was tropical storm Alberto that devastated much of central and south Georgia in 1994 because of flooding rains. The other danger of a tropical system is that the destabilized air can spawn tornadoes without warning.
Thus, remain alert, avoid travel over rain soaked roads where possible, and be ready to help out a fellow Georgian in need.