Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal today expanded his declaration of emergency in anticipation of Hurricane Irma from six coastal counties to 30 and issued a mandatory evacuation order beginning Saturday for all areas east of Interstate 95, a news release states.
The evacuation order includes all of Chatham County (Savannah) and some areas west of I-95 that could be affected by storm surge.
Deal's order also authorizes up to 5,500 Georgia National Guard members to be on state active duty to support Hurricane Irma response and recovery, the release states.
"The state is mobilizing all available resources to ensure public safety ahead of Hurricane Irma," the governor said. "I encourage all Georgians in our coastal areas that could be impacted by this storm to evacuate the area as soon as possible." He said the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency " continues leading our preparedness efforts as we coordinate with federal, state and local officials to safely evacuate the coastal areas, provide public shelter and minimize the disruption of traffic. Finally, I ask all Georgians to join me in praying for the safety of our people and all those in Hurricane Irma's path."
The 30 counties now under a state of emergency are Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Brantley, Bryan, Bulloch, Burke, Camden, Candler, Charlton, Chatham, Clinch, Coffee, Echols, Effingham, Emanuel, Evans, Glynn, Jenkins, Jeff Davis, Liberty, Long, McIntosh, Pierce, Screven, Tattnall, Toombs, Treutlen, Wayne and Ware.
The state of emergency prohibits price gouging for all goods and services related to the storm.
The governor and the State Operation Command Team will hold a news conference Friday at 10 a.m. to update storm preparations.