FEMA Helene disaster declaration in Georgia frustrates some local officials

AMERICUS, Ga. — President Joe Biden’s administration approved an emergency disaster declaration for 11 Georgia counties devastated by Hurricane Helene, adding that it could soon add more counties to the list as assessments of hard-hit areas are completed.

But the announcement Tuesday frustrated some Republicans who joined Gov. Brian Kemp earlier in the week to urge the Federal Emergency Management Agency to swiftly declare roughly 90 counties a disaster to immediately free up funds.

“Does FEMA not understand that this hurricane cut a 150-mile wide path of destruction from Valdosta to Augusta?” said U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, a Republican who represents a swath of northeast Georgia that was pummeled by the storm.

Kemp spoke to FEMA administrators and the White House early Tuesday urging officials to declare more counties a federal disaster after Helene, the deadliest hurricane to hit Georgia in three decades. Senior Democrats also privately lobbied FEMA to expand the list.

Earlier this week, Biden aide Tom Perez told The Atlanta Journal- Constitution that the White House would move urgently to respond to Kemp’s request for emergency relief, which was seconded by Georgia’s entire delegation.

“I’m confident that it will be processed very, very quickly,” Perez said. “We’re talking hours, not days.”

Cook County Probate Judge Chase Daughtrey was aghast that his rural South Georgia county was left off the initial list for the emergency declaration, which immediately opens federal spigots for aid.

“This is unacceptable,” he said. “I’ve got a line as far as the eye can see here in Adel of people trying to get food for their children. They are hungry and have nothing.”

FEMA sometimes issues the disaster declarations on a rolling basis to free up funds for storm-ravaged counties sooner as it works to complete evaluations on others. That’s what happened after Hurricane Idalia bombarded the Southeast in August 2023.

But the delay comes at a delicate time for Biden’s administration. Georgia is one of a handful of politically competitive states in the November race, and former President Donald Trump has accused the White House of a lethargic response to the storms. He also took shots at Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee.

During a visit to Valdosta on Monday, Trump falsely accused Biden of being “very nonresponsive” to Kemp’s calls. The governor said at a separate stop in Augusta that he spoke with Biden on Sunday evening and that he appreciated the “bipartisan way” local, state and federal leaders worked together to respond to the crisis.