ATLANTA — Gov. Brian Kemp extended the state of emergency across Georgia on Tuesday in the aftermath of the widespread impacts of Helene.
The extension comes exactly one week after he enacted one before Hurricane Helene left behind a wake of destruction in parts of south and central Georgia, leaving at least 25 dead in the state and even more across the Southeast.
The current state of emergency declaration was set to expire on Oct. 2 at 11:59 p.m., but has now been extended by Kemp for another week until Oct. 9 at 11:59 p.m.
The executive order helps with immediate resource assistance in the aftermath of the storm. The state of emergency impacts all 159 counties in Georgia.
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration Tuesday for 41 Georgia counties in the aftermath of Helene.
There were initially 11 counties in the declaration: Lowndes and Richmond, where hard-hit Valdosta and Augusta are respectively located, as well as Appling, Brooks, Coffee, Columbia, Jefferson, Liberty, Pierce, Tattnall and Toombs.
Gov. Brian Kemp, with the support of Georgia's full congressional delegation, had formally requested a declaration for dozens more counties than what President Biden ultimately approved.
Later in the day, the president added 30 more counties: Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Bulloch, Burke, Candler, Chatham, Clinch, Colquitt, Cook, Echols, Emanuel, Evans, Glascock, Irwin, Jeff Davis, Jenkins, Johnson, Lanier, Laurens, Lincoln, McDuffie, Montgomery, Screven, Telfair, Treutlen, Ware, Washington and Wheeler.
The governor spoke about Helene's damage to the state when he visited Augusta and toured the devastation on Monday.
Kemp touched on updates regarding power restoration and the clearing of rodes, noting that, according to Georgia Power, around 5,000 powerline polls remain damaged and that most state routes should now be possible with at least one lane open.
Kemp also touched on traffic signals, encouraging all Georgia residents to treat down traffic lights like four-way stop signs and adding that there have already been accidents in areas where those lights are out.