ATLANTA– Late Monday afternoon, after viewing storm damage in Douglas and Paulding counties from the air, Governor Sonny Perdue issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency in 17 counties affected by heavy rain and severe weather that passed through Georgia. The counties are Carroll, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Crawford, DeKalb, Douglas, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Newton, Paulding, Rockdale, Stephens and Walker counties.
“Mary and I are saddened by the human cost the recent storms have wrought,” said Governor Sonny Perdue. “We are currently focused on rescuing victims of the storms targeting Georgia and preventing further damage. State personnel and equipment are being deployed to assist effected communities. The Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) is coordinating our response and managing the State Operations Center, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Environmental Protection Division (EPD) are deploying boats, high-water vehicles, and testing water. Other state agencies are deploying manpower and additional resources.”
State agency responses include:
Georgia Forestry Commission- Manpower and debris clearance, water tanker for Douglas County Hospital, water tender strike teams for structural fire support
Georgia State Patrol – Law enforcement for traffic control, road closures, helicopters
Department of Transportation – Road closure signs, bridge inspection, detours
Department of Human Services- Hospital coordination, shelter coordination, boil water advisories
Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Division- Boats, high water vehicles, manpower, water rescue, dam inspections, haz mat spill assistance, water testing
Department of Agriculture- Large animal evacuations and pet sheltering
Georgia Emergency Management Agency – Response coordination, running State Operations Center, damage reports, public information, situation reports, resource coordination, field response
“The Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) will work with state agencies, utility companies and volunteer organizations to coordinate disaster response and recovery activities and serve our citizens,” said GEMA Director Charley English.
GEMA is the lead state agency for coordination of emergency and disaster response activities. For more emergency information, visit GEMA’s Web site at www.gema.ga.gov. To learn how to prepare for disaster, visit www.ready.ga.gov.