BLUE RIDGE, Ga. — State help for the flood-damaged North Georgia mountains will stay in place for at least another week after Gov. Brian Kemp signed an executive order on Nov. 12 renewing the emergency declaration covering Fannin, Gilmer, Murray and Union counties.
The renewed order now expires at 11:59 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19. The governor can extend it again or end it earlier. Kemp’s first declaration came Nov. 5, when a round of heavy storms pushed rivers and creeks out of their banks.
The governor said he renewed the order so emergency management and public safety agencies responding to the flooding keep every resource they need. The original declaration put the Georgia Emergency Operations Plan into effect, opened the state operations center and bans price gouging in the affected area.
The Nov. 5-6 storms left one woman dead in Murray County when floodwaters carried her car off a road. Crews carried out 100 rescues in Fannin and Gilmer counties, and the Toccoa River reached a record crest of 18 feet in McCaysville.
Fannin County assessment teams had looked at 1,012 structures as of Friday afternoon, Nov. 13. Their preliminary count listed 38 homes destroyed and 169 with major damage, plus two businesses destroyed and 78 with major damage. County officials said those numbers could change as surveys continue.
In McCaysville, the city ended its overnight curfew on Nov. 12 and reopened the left-turn route off Blue Ridge Drive into Copperhill, Tennessee. A boil water advisory is still in force, and some customers remain without water while crews repair leaks. Municipal court, including traffic court, will not meet again in 2026.
Relief organizers have asked people to hold off on general donations for now. Right now the McCaysville relief center, 289 Blue Ridge Drive, wants only carbon monoxide detectors and small 1-pound propane heater bottles.
Forecasters do not expect more rain in the flooded area soon, but a freeze warning early Saturday could damage exposed pipes and freeze standing water.
Filed under: Atlanta GA Weather News
