(Georgia Recorder) — A hurricane warning has been issued as far inland as Macon as Hurricane Helene threatens the entire state of Georgia, prompting Gov. Brian Kemp to issue a state of emergency for all 159 counties.
The rest of Georgia is under a tropical storm warning, with areas of north Georgia facing a high risk of flooding. There is even a threat of mudslides in some of the state’s mountainous areas.
“As Hurricane Helene strengthens, it’s likely that all parts of Georgia will be impacted in the coming days,” Kemp said in a statement Wednesday.
Widespread power outages are expected, likely leaving some Georgians without electricity for an extended period of time.
“It’s probably one of our most significant events we’ve seen in a long time,” James Stallings, director of the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, said during a Wednesday briefing.
Georgia’s most similar recent storm may be Hurricane Irma, which caused major tree damage in every county back in 2017, according to Will Lanxton, who is the state meteorologist.
“It’s definitely been several years,” Lanxton said.
Compounding the threat is another storm system that turned on the spigot early over metro Atlanta Wednesday, saturating the soil and causing the area’s creeks, rivers and streams to swell ahead of Hurricane Helene. Some areas of Georgia could see more than a foot of rain.
State officials say Hurricane Helene, which is now expected to make landfall Thursday evening as a Category 4 storm, is poised to deal a financial blow.
“We have not seen, other than COVID, a recent event where 159 counties in Georgia have been impacted,” Stallings said.
As a point of comparison, Stallings said Hurricane Debby recently inflicted about $60 million in damage, and that storm only affected 30 counties.
“I would just simply say this is a wide-scale event with significant implications,” Stallings said.
As of Wednesday afternoon, schools from south Georgia to metro Atlanta had sent emails to parents and students canceling classes and extracurriculars for Thursday and Friday.
Citing widespread closures across the state, the Department of Education announced Wednesday it would delay releasing Georgia Milestones math scores from Friday to Monday.
Several colleges, including Valdosta State University, also announced campus closures as they brace for the storm.
Georgia Recorder reporter Ross Williams contributed to this report.
