NASHVILLE — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp paid a visit to Berrien County Tuesday to assure local residents he would continue to offer help in the wake of Hurricane Helene.

As part of a campaign to meet with and support southern and eastern municipalities in the state that had been impacted by Hurricane Helene, Kemp stopped in at Nashville City Hall to provide members of the local community with an update on the status of their area and the state and what he would be doing in support of the recovery effort.

The governor said the damage caused by the hurricane was among the worst he had ever seen, affecting not only the coast but becoming a statewide issue. He recounted that the rain in Atlanta over the 48 hours of the storm’s activity in the area had totaled 11.12 inches, easily surpassing the previous record of 9.6 inches of rain recorded in that time frame.

In addition, 25 Georgian residents had lost their lives from the hurricane, Kemp reported, and 1.3 million were still without power. Georgia Power was struggling to get that power back to them, with thousands of poles, lengths of wire, transformers, and powerlines broken, damaged, or inoperable.

Kemp asserted that he would maintain a sense of emergency for the entire state as long as required. He ordered 1,400 Georgia National Guard members deployed, with an additional 1000 called for and more on the way as needed, he said, and crews across the state are working to clear damaged homes and blocked roadways.

While over 140 state routes had been blocked by debris left in the wake of the storm, Kemp was proud to report that the state Department of Transportation had cleared several of them, and was open to requests from counties to clear their roads white line to white line.

He also stated that he had requested an expedited emergency disaster declaration from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which would release federal funds to the state government for use in supporting communities affected by the hurricane.

The original declaration applied to 11 counties, but Kemp said he had spoken to the White House to ensure other counties that had been affected would also receive support, securing aid for 30 more counties across the state, including Berrien. Kemp expressed an intent to have 70 counties set up to receive benefits.

Kemp was accompanied by Chris Stallings, director of the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, and U.S. Congressman Austin Scott, who offered their own support for the Berrien County community and the state at large and voicing their own plans to contribute to the restoration effort.

Stallings reported that his agency had been opened up for individual and public assistance, allowing them to begin work on the vital projects that would get Berrien County on the road to recovery as quickly as possible.

He asked for a little patience from the county residents in the restoration effort, but praised them for making the most out of the limited resources he and his agency were able to provide them in the aftermath of the storm and for their response and preparation for it.

“Your community is doing wonderful — compared to certain other communities in this state right now, you’ve got equal damage but your spirits are high, you’re working as a team, and I think that goes a long way to show the community you’ve got here,” Stallings said. “We appreciate the partnership — thank you for allowing us to partner with you. We continue to stand strong with you, and anything we can do for you, we’re going to continue to do.”

Scott praised the work going on around the state from volunteer efforts aiding their local communities, especially with the cleanup and electrical networks being stretched thin due to how widespread the damage was, and encouraged residents to reach out to their local Emergency Management Services for whatever aid they might need.

He asserted he would be working with land grant institutions from several states to tally up the losses of farmland and property, with the hope of then taking the estimates and giving the funds to state governments, who would then equitably distribute disaster relief funds to their citizens. 

Scott expressed that this plan likely wouldn’t completely replace all the property lost in the storm, but promised he and the federal government would do all they could to help.

Kemp admitted he had no estimate on how long cleanup of the fallen trees and debris would take in Berrien County, much less other counties in the state, but he assured his constituents present that they would focus on ensuring the roads were made clear for first responders and emergency vehicles as soon as possible, at which point they would go back to work on clearing the roads for additional passage.

In the event Berrien or another county was in need of immediate aid, he stated that virtually ever government official in the state had his contact information, asserting that they were free to reach out to him at any time and he would provide support any way he could.

“Just know that the reason we are here is because we hear you — we want to hear from you and see what you’re dealing with,” Kemp said. “It will take a while to get over this and get back, but we’re not going to waver until that — we’re going to be with you every step of the way, fighting through legislative and congressional process, the state process, FEMA, getting people back to normal as quick as we can.”