S.Ga. counties under state of emergency

Amanda Usher, The Valdosta Daily Times, Ga.
·1 min read

Jul. 7—VALDOSTA — Several South Georgia counties are under a state of emergency as the region prepares for possible impact from Elsa — which weather officials said reached hurricane status for a period of time Tuesday evening.

Lowndes, Berrien, Brooks, Colquitt, Tift, Lanier, Thomas, Echols and Cook counties are on the state of emergency list that totals 92 counties, according to a statement from Gov. Brian Kemp's office.

As of 8 p.m. Tuesday, Elsa transitioned from a tropical storm to a hurricane, according to a report from a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Tallahassee, Fla., office.

Lowndes and Brooks counties are under a tropical storm warning, according to the forecast.

The storm was moving north around 14 miles per hour with around 75-mile-per-hour winds Tuesday evening, according to the report. It had not made landfall, at the time of the report.

The state of emergency order by Kemp is set to expire 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, July 14, unless it is renewed.

A full version of the order can be accessed by visiting https://bit.ly/3xmDjuz.