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

ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp has announced residents in 41 Georgia counties affected by Hurricane Helene are now eligible to apply for disaster assistance.

The Major Disaster Declaration provides individual assistance and public assistance (Categories A and B) to: Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brooks, Bulloch, Burke, Candler, Chatham, Clinch, Coffee, Colquitt, Columbia, Cook, Echols, Emanuel, Evans, Glascock, Irwin, Jeff Davis, Jefferson, Jenkins, Johnson, Lanier, Laurens, Liberty, Lincoln, Lowndes, McDuffie, Montgomery, Pierce, Richmond, Screven, Tattnall, Telfair, Toombs, Treutlen, Ware, Washington, and Wheeler counties.

“The Major Disaster Declaration will begin to provide critical resources to the limited counties designated for Hurricane Helene. We are hopeful once more of the impacted areas receive proper damage assessments, the Declaration will add the necessary counties for Individual Assistance, Public Assistance Categories A through G, including increased federal cost shares for both emergency and permanent work,” said GEMA/HS Director, Chris Stallings. “Our priority remains the safety and well-being of our residents, and we will continue to work alongside our local, state, and federal partners to provide the support needed during this challenging time.”

Individual Assistance may include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, immediate housing and food needs, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of Hurricane Helene.

The Public Assistance programs available in the Major Disaster Declaration are currently limited to assistance for emergency work and the repair or replacement of disaster-damaged facilities.

Eligible applicants include state and local government entities and qualified non-profit (PNP) organizations. 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.

For more information on the Major Disaster Declaration, Public Assistance, or Individual Assistance, email PublicAssistance@gema.ga.gov, and for Individual Assistance, email IndividualAssistance@gema.ga.gov.

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