Major disaster declared for four additional GA counties impacted by Hurricane Helene

ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp has announced four additional Georgia counties affected by

Hurricane Helene that are now eligible to apply for disaster assistance. The disaster declaration now

covers Elbert and Rabun for Individual Assistance, and Effingham and Tift for Individual and Public Assistance (Categories A and B).

Individual Assistance can fund individual and family recovery efforts, which may include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of Hurricane Helene.

Public Assistance is available to state and local government entities and qualified not-for-profit

organizations. It will provide financial aid for debris removal and emergency work.

Individuals in these designated counties can apply for assistance in any of the following ways:

• Online at DisasterAssistance.gov
• Calling 1-800-621-3362
• People who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and use a TTY may call 800-

462-7585.

The deadline for applications is Dec. 2, 2024. For more information on the Major Disaster

Declaration or Public Assistance, email PublicAssistance@gema.ga.gov, and for Individual

Assistance, email IndividualAssistance@gema.ga.gov.

Major disaster declared for 41 Georgia counties, assistance announced for Hurricane Helene survivors