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Gov. Kemp Update on Hurricane Helene Response

Members of the Civil Air Patrol load water for Hurricane Helene relief into a pickup truck at a water station in Augusta, Ga., on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)
(AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)
Members of the Civil Air Patrol load water for Hurricane Helene relief into a pickup truck at a water station in Augusta, Ga., on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)

On Thursday, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and GEMA provided an update on the state’s recovery efforts after the damage wrought by Hurricane Helene. The state gas tax has been suspended and as a result, motorists will see a 32 cent drop in the price of regular gas and 36 cents on diesel. Kemp said there are still over 275,000 people without power. Down from a peak of 1.3 million.

“Georgia Power has roughly 200,000 still without power,” according to Kemp. “They’ve restored power to over 1.4 million customers, which is about 85%. They fell like later today or tomorrow they’ll be at 90%.”

Kemp said local Electric Membership Cooperatives were also making substantial progress.

“Our EMCs [have]162,000 [outages], primarily in south central, southeast, and east Georgia. That is down from a peak of 435,000 outages affecting 1.25 million customers.”

The governor cautioned those using generators to keep them a safe distance from their homes, after three deaths were reported due to carbon monoxide.

Currently, there are nearly 2,000 Georgia National Guard members working in the state to help restoration efforts.

“They are working very hard loading water into trucks, chainsaw cut teams clearing roads, clearing lines for power companies, distributing meals, getting pods set up. Just incredible work.”

There have been 33 storm-related fatalities in Georgia and 200 overall.

Alexia Ridley joined WUGA as Television and Radio News Anchor and Reporter in 2013. When WUGA TV concluded operations, she became the primary Reporter for WUGA Radio. Alexia came to Athens from Macon where she served as the News Director and show host for WGXA TV. She's a career journalist and Savannah native hailing from the University of Michigan. However, Alexia considers herself an honorary UGA DAWG!