Helene’s wrath tests Georgia’s revamped emergency operations

Ten years ago, the disastrous state and local response to icy gridlock that turned metro Atlanta into a laughingstock transformed how leaders prepare for major storms.

The lackluster political response ushered in vast changes to Georgia’s emergency management protocol — and vows from then-Gov. Nathan Deal and local officials for more aggressive and preemptive action. A more robust better-safe-than-sorry mantra prevailed.

Now as Helene hit Georgia as a hurricane on Friday before weakening into a tropical storm, Gov. Brian Kemp and officials throughout the state face a stiff test as they try to keep Georgians safe and then work to clean up the mess it left behind.

Early this morning, the National Hurricane Center said “damaging wind gusts will continue to penetrate well inland” over much of the state.

But at its peak, Kemp said Thursday, the storm was predicted to be about 500 miles wide. Georgia is 230 miles wide. That made it difficult for state officials to prepare. Usually, they like to preemptively put all their resources in the storm’s path so they can be ready to respond quickly.

But what do you do when the storm’s path is predicted to be the entire state?

Kemp said Tropical Storm Debby, which hit the Savannah area last month, was “one of the worst storms we’ve ever seen from a flooding perspective,” but noted many in the metro Atlanta area didn’t know that because the storm was smaller.

That’s why Helene is different.

“This is one of the biggest storms we’ve ever had,” Kemp said.

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Credit: Seth Wenig/AP

Credit: Seth Wenig/AP

GOOD MORNING. We’re 39 days away from the presidential election. Helene has weakened from a hurricane to a tropical storm, but it’s still causing lots of problems up and down the state. Follow the AJC’s coverage.

Here’s three things to know for today:

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Credit: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Credit: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

ON THE BORDER. Vice President Kamala Harris will visit an Arizona border town today, marking her first trip to the area since becoming the Democratic nominee for president.

One of Harris’ biggest vulnerabilities is illegal immigration, with Republicans blaming her for surges of migrants crossing the border during the Biden administration even as numbers have fallen in recent months. Critics accuse her of failing to address problems in her role as the “border czar.” President Joe Biden tasked Harris in 2021 with working on ways to stem migration to the U.S. from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.

In a recent AJC poll, 8% of respondents said that immigration was their top issue in the November election. And polling in swing states shows that more voters believe Trump will do a better job on immigration policy than Harris.

Democrats have responded by reminding voters that a bipartisan border security bill negotiated in Congress tanked, in part, when Trump urged Republicans not to support it.

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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

WADE’S WORLD. The search for Nathan Wade is over.

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee had not been able to find the former Fulton County special prosecutor as part of its investigation into Georgia’s election interference case. On Thursday, Wade was formally served a subpoena.

The Republican-led committee has been investigating Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for more than a year over her handling of the case against Trump and his allies. They’re trying to get Wade to testify at a hearing in Washington.

Wade’s attorney, Andrew Evans, said his client “has nothing that is of interest” to the committee and chalked the subpoena up to “political theater.” Trump claims Willis is attempting to interfere with the 2024 vote.

The subpoena is the latest in a series of requests from U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the committee’s chairman.

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Credit: Katelyn Myrick/AJC

Credit: Katelyn Myrick/AJC

YOU MISSED A FEW. While Tropical Storm Helene is bearing down on Georgia today, state officials are still dealing with the fallout from last month’s Tropical Storm Debby.

The federal government did not include three South Georgia counties — Echols, Lanier and Ware — in its primary natural disaster area. That means farmers in those counties don’t get indemnity payments for their damaged crops.

This week, Georgia Agricultural Commissioner Tyler Harper and state lawmakers sent a letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack asking him to correct this. The letter included data from the University of Georgia Extension Climatologist saying the counties exceeded the thresholds required to be included in the disaster declaration.

Farming is big business in South Georgia. The state House named Echols County the “Carrot Capital of the South” in 2014.

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Credit: Ben Hendren for the AJC

Credit: Ben Hendren for the AJC

SENATE SLAMS. The race between Republican state Sen. John Albers of Roswell and Democratic challenger JD Jordan is taking a nastier turn.

Jordan purchased senatorjohnalbers.com and turned it into a detailed takedown of the GOP incumbent, complete with a fundraising tab called “Help Get Rid of Me.” It was a reminder of why all politicians should buy their domain names.

Credit: Courtesy photo

Credit: Courtesy photo

Jordan told us he wanted to take the “high road” and focus the website on Albers’ support for permissive gun laws rather than level personal attacks.

Jordan’s campaign website, meanwhile, includes responses to attacks some voters received labeling him a “deadbeat dad” and other insults.

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Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJC

Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJC

SCHOOL STANDARDS. Georgia has funded an introduction to African American/Black Studies course for public schools since 2020. But because the state has no standards for the course, school districts must develop their own curriculum and materials.

This worries some Black members of Georgia’s congressional delegation, who this week sent a letter to State School Superintendent Richard Woods asking him to develop uniform standards.

“The result is often a wide discrepancy in the rigor and content of how the course is taught between school districts,” said the letter, which was signed by Democratic U.S. Reps. Sanford Bishop of Albany, Hank Johnson of Lithonia, Lucy McBath of Marietta, and David Scott and Nikema Williams, both of Atlanta.

The lawmakers also asked Woods to make sure a delay in approving the Advanced Placement African American Studies course this year doesn’t prevent some students from enrolling in the course and receiving full credit toward HOPE scholarship requirements.

Woods originally said he would not approve the course. But he reversed himself after criticism from both Republicans and Democrats.

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LISTEN UP. Today on “Politically Georgia,” Cody Hall, advisor to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, joins the show to talk about ending the feud with former President Donald Trump. Dan Kanninen, battleground director for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, will discuss strategy. And Natalie Dale from the Georgia Department of Transportation will talk about Tropical Storm Helene’s impacts.

You can listen live at 10 a.m. on WABE 90.1 or follow “Politically Georgia” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are uploaded by noon each day, just in time to have lunch with us. Have a question for the show? Give us a call at 770-810-5297.

On Thursday’s show, former Fulton County Elections Chair Cathy Woolard spoke about her ethics complaints against the State Election Board. And AME Bishop Reginald Jackson talked about leaving the 6th Episcopal District of Georgia but still working to engage Black voters.

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Credit: Mariam Zuhaib/AP

Credit: Mariam Zuhaib/AP

BALLOT ANXIETY. U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy tried to reassure lawmakers on Thursday that Americans can trust their mail-in ballots will make it to local election offices in time to be counted.

“Absolutely. I don’t know why you wouldn’t,” DeJoy told lawmakers during a congressional hearing in Washington.

DeJoy’s primary argument seemed to be that they’ve done it before, they can do it again. An unprecedented number of Americans voted by mail in 2020 during the pandemic, and DeJoy said 99.89% of ballots were delivered.

But what’s different this year is the Postal Service under DeJoy’s leadership has overhauled its services, including closing some smaller processing facilities. The result has been delays in some deliveries. It’s why some Georgia U.S. House members sent a letter to DeJoy last week outlining their concerns.

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Credit: Susan Walsh/AP

Credit: Susan Walsh/AP

TODAY IN WASHINGTON:

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Credit: J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Credit: J. Scott Applewhite/AP

UKRAINE POLITICS. Vice President Kamala Harris met with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday. Afterward, she blasted calls for Ukraine to cede some of its territory to Russia to quickly end the war.

It was a subtle jab at Republican President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio U.S. Sen. JD Vance, who have suggested Ukraine should reach a deal to end the war.

“These proposals are the same of those of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin. And let us be clear, they are not proposals for peace. Instead, they are proposals for surrender, which is dangerous and unacceptable,” Harris said as Zelenskyy stood by her side.

Trump says he will meet with Zelenskyy today. During Trump’s visit to Savannah on Tuesday, he praised Russia’s military record, suggesting they were unlikely to lose the war to Ukraine. He criticized the U.S. aid to Ukraine and said America had “to get out.”

“I believe I will be able to make a deal between President Putin and President Zelenskyy, quite quickly,” Trump said in a news conference on Thursday.

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ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL. Events today and this weekend:

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SHOUTOUTS. Today’s birthday:

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AS ALWAYS, send your best scoops, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.beam@ajc.com.