ATLANTA — Gov. Brian Kemp activated the state's emergency operations center Monday ahead of potential impacts from Idalia.
"Partners from all relevant state response agencies will closely monitor the storm as it moves toward Florida where it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday morning," a release from the Governor's Office said.
The storm has really intensified over the past 24 hours and this trend is expected to continue as it moves into the eastern Gulf of Mexico. The system could possibly become a category three hurricane before making landfall.
"Tropical storm force winds will begin to move into south Georgia around mid-morning. Winds and heavy rainfall will increase throughout the morning and continue through Wednesday evening. Tropical storm force winds (40+ mph) are expected across southeastern Georgia and hurricane force wind gusts (75+ mph) will be possible in extreme southern Georgia, as well as along the entire immediate coastline late Wednesday morning through the afternoon," the governor's release said.
It added that the Georgia Emergency Management Agency/Homeland Security (GEMA) and the governor were "closely monitoring the status and path of Tropical Storm Idalia and will provide updates when appropriate."
"Thanks to our response partners on both the state and local levels, Georgia will be prepared for whatever Idalia will bring,” Gov. Kemp said in a release. “Rest assured, though the system will likely weaken before crossing our border, we’re not taking anything for granted."
The release had additional information about the operations center:
About the State Operations Center
The State Operations Center is a Multi-Agency Coordination Center used by state, federal, local, and volunteer agencies, as well as private sector organizations, to respond to disasters or emergencies that require a coordinated state response. It also includes the state's 24-hour warning system.
Learn more at: https://gema.georgia.gov/what-we-do/response
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