Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp declares new state of emergency as Hurricane Milton approaches

October 9th, 2024

Hurricane Milton is shown on a satellite image approaching the Florida coast early afternoon on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (National Hurricane Center)

This story was updated at 5:52 p.m.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Tuesday issued a state of emergency for counties that could be affected by Hurricane Milton, which will likely hit Florida on Wednesday evening as a Category 2 or 3 storm.

Those counties are Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Berrien, Bibb, Brantley, Brooks, Bryan, Bulloch, Butts, Camden, Candler, Charlton, Chatham, Clinch, Coffee, Cook, Crisp, Dougherty, Echols, Effingham, Evans, Glynn, Houston, Jeff Davis, Lanier, Liberty, Long, Lowndes, McIntosh, Monroe, Muscogee, Pierce, Screven, Tattnall, Toombs, Ware and Wayne.

The state of emergency will last until the end of the day Wednesday, Oct. 16.

Many of these counties are still under a major disaster declaration due to the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene.

Residents of southeast Georgia will likely see the effects of Milton from Wednesday afternoon to Thursday evening.

According to the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, Milton may bring 2 to 6 inches of rainfall and tropical storm force winds of 40 to 50 mph in some counties and less severe rainfall and wind further inland. Per GEMA, residents of Camden, Glynn, McIntosh, Brantley, Charlton and Ware counties could see flash flooding.

The National Hurricane Center predicts that southern parts of coastal Georgia could see a storm surge from 3 to 5 feet above ground level, with the maximum predicted height at 6 feet, while parts of the coast toward the north, such as Savannah, may see a storm surge from 1 to 3 feet above ground level with a maximum of 3 feet.

Storm surge warnings are in effect for the far southeast coast of the state, around Camden and Glynn counties. A storm surge warning means people remaining in the area could face life-threatening inundation from rising water during the next 36 hours.

A large part of the coast of Georgia is under tropical storm warnings, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Many Floridians are evacuating into Georgia. For an up-to-date list of Red Cross shelters in Georgia, please visit the Red Cross website.

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the date of the end of the state of emergency. In fact, the state of emergency for Milton ends on Wednesday, Oct. 16.