Governor Nathan Deal made a stop in Habersham County to assess the damage and address the county on the state’s recovery efforts.
The governor landed this morning at Habersham County Airport in Baldwin after taking an aerial tour of Northeast Georgia.
“We saw a pretty good representation of the problem,” he said.
Though crews are working diligently to restore service back to the community, there is still much to be done.
“The primary difficulty now is the loss of power and loss of internet service,” said Deal. “We’ve cleared as many roads as possible, but that is an ongoing operation by local jurisdictions as our state DOT.”
Damage assessment
In his assessment of the damage, Gov. Deal said, “It is spotty.” He added that this was unlike any type of storm we were used to in years past. “It seems like it is indiscriminate of where it hits.”
Though the pattern of destruction was generally the same throughout the area, Deal felt as though Mt.Airy and Demorest were among the hardest hit areas.
“Everybody at every level of government is doing everything they can to bring us back to normal just as fast as possible,” said Deal.
Looking forward, Deal says he believes the state will receive a favorable response from the federal government.
“We’ve made the request with certain areas hardest hit for individual assistance,” he said. “When it comes to federal assistance, there are certain thresholds of amount of loss that either public entities such as counties and cities must show” in order to qualify for aid.
In closing, Deal spoke about the generosity between communities and neighborhoods in Irma’s wake.
“It’s neighbors reaching out to neighbors and people they may not even know, inviting them into their home until they can return to their homes.”
Shortly after making his remarks, the governor flew out of Habersham to assess damage in other parts of the state, with scheduled stops this afternoon in Brunswick and Peachtree City.
