Governor Brian Kemp issued an updated state of emergency for all 159 Georgia counties and ordered the state operations center activated Friday as Hurricane Isaias approaches the Gulf Coast.
Governor Brian Kemp on Thursday issued an updated state of emergency for all 159 Georgia counties ahead of Hurricane Isaias. The order lets emergency managers position resources. He directed the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency to activate the State Operations Center early Friday afternoon.
Kemp said the state was hoping for the best but preparing for the worst, and he urged residents to stock food, batteries, flashlights and water. Forecasters expect landfall on the Gulf Coast Friday evening, with effects in Georgia continuing through Saturday, including strong gusts, heavy rain, possible tornadoes, downed lines and flooding.
GEMA/HS director Josh Lamb said safety was the priority and that the agency was coordinating with local, state and federal partners. He said every part of the state could see impacts.
NOAA said Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters found Isaias had become a hurricane around 10:30 p.m. CDT on Wednesday after becoming a tropical storm earlier that day. NOAA said it is the latest first Atlantic hurricane of a season on record since at least 1905, and the basin's first hurricane in nearly a year. States of emergency were also in place in parts of Alabama and Florida, where some mandatory evacuations had been ordered.
The Georgia order is a preparedness step. Landfall and the storm's path after Friday evening were still forecasts when the governor's office posted the release.
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- Brian Kemp said Georgia was hoping for the best but preparing for the worst.
- Josh Lamb said GEMA is coordinating with partners and that all parts of the state could see impacts.