ATLANTA, Ga. — Georgians cleaning up after Isaias are being asked to document what the storm broke, because those reports help state and federal officials decide how much disaster aid the state can seek.
The Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency is directing residents who experience damage from Hurricane Isaias to report it to their county Emergency Management Agency. The agency also runs an online portal where people can self-report damage to their homes, businesses and public facilities.
Those self-reports are not the final word. Local, state, and federal emergency management officials still need to verify the information before determining whether the damage crosses state or federal declaration thresholds, which is the trigger for wider assistance.
Power problems go to the utilities. Georgia Power customers can report an outage or downed power lines at 1-888-891-0938, while electric membership cooperative customers should contact their local co-op. State officials say residents should treat every downed line as energized and dangerous.
Farmers and animal owners have a separate channel. The Georgia Department of Agriculture is asking people to report storm damage on its online reporting form, its preferred method. The department says livestock owners checking property after the storm should assess ventilation, water supply, feed supply and structural repairs in that order, and report missing animals to local animal services. Its Livestock and Poultry Section, at 404-656-3665, can advise on carcass disposal under the Dead Animal Act.
The storm also spun up tornadoes in southeast Georgia. The National Weather Service confirmed an EF-1 with max winds of 105 mph that formed around 3:19 p.m. Saturday near Highway 21 in Screven County and tracked about 7.5 miles north. It snapped and uprooted trees, badly damaged a mobile home and crushed several cars, but no injuries were reported.
A weak EF-0 with 80 mph winds tracked about 1.5 miles near Captolo, peeling back a tin roof, and a third tornado in eastern Bulloch County is still being surveyed. Before Saturday, the last tornado confirmed in southeast Georgia or the Lowcountry was in July 2025.
Gov. Brian Kemp had placed all 159 counties under a state of emergency ahead of the storm and directed the state agency to activate the State Operations Center.
