ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp has extended the state of emergency in parts of Georgia in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Debby until Tuesday, Aug. 20.
The lingering effects of last week’s storm were still being felt Friday in southeastern Georgia in the form of floodwaters after Debby dropped more than 10 inches of rain in already saturated areas. The Ogeechee and Canoochee rivers overflowed their banks.
Several provisions in Kemp’s original emergency declaration have not been extended and were allowed to expire at midnight Thursday. The governor lifted a temporary suspension of federal rules and regulations that allowed commercial truckers to drive unlimited hours and increased weight, height and length restrictions on vehicles involved in relief efforts.
Kemp also rescinded his call for up to 2,000 Georgia National Guard troops to assist in response and recovery efforts. Several hundred troopers participated in the response at the height of the storm.
Debby made landfall Aug. 5 in the Big Bend region of Florida as a Category 1 hurricane, then cut a swath across Georgia and into the Carolinas during the next several days as a tropical storm. It was then downgraded again to a tropical depression as it moved up the East Coast.