Gov. Brian Kemp has extended the state of emergency issued ahead of Tropical Storm Debby for another week and plans to visit South Georgia with first lady Marty Kemp and other state leaders Friday.
Kemp issued an executive order Wednesday that adds seven days to the initial weeklong state of emergency he declared Aug. 3. It was set to end Thursday, but now expires Aug. 15 at 11:59 p.m.
Kemp and his wife will head to Savannah on Friday morning for a helicopter tour surveying the damage inflicted by the storm. About 10 inches of rain soaked Georgia’s coastal plain this week, and flooding affected some parts of Savannah and other coastal areas.
Debby, which made landfall in Florida as a Category 1 hurricane, shifted course as it collided with the Atlantic coastline, directing the heaviest rainfall toward the South Carolina Lowcountry. Georgia avoided the deluge that many feared would be catastrophic.
Despite the storm’s shift, Debby has been blamed for seven deaths, including one in Georgia. A 19-year-old man was killed in Moultrie, about 40 miles northwest of Valdosta, when a large tree fell on a home Monday.
Kemp and the first lady will be accompanied on their helicopter tour by Georgia Emergency Management Agency Director James Stallings and other state and local leaders. The governor will address the media at noon Friday at Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport.
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