MACON, Ga. — As southeast Georgia is pummeled with heavy rain from Tropical Storm Debby, the White House authorized federal emergency funds Monday to help Georgia localities cover the costs caused by Tropical Storm Debby.
The emergency declaration, which President Joe Biden signed off on Monday evening, opens up federal emergency aid to roughly 55 counties.
While most of the counties are in southeast Georgia, there are 12 Central Georgia counties included in the declaration.
It comes on the heels of Gov. Brian Kemp's state emergency declaration ahead of the storm. That declaration was issued on Saturday ahead of landfall in Florida Monday and its arrival in Georgia that afternoon.
Under the laws governing federal emergency aid, the federal government requires a state emergency declaration before the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) can provide its own financial assistance.
When governors issue their emergency declaration, they can then request a federal emergency declaration.
According to the White House, the Central Georgia counties eligible to receive funds from FEMA include Laurens, Ben Hill, Dodge, Emanuel, Jeff Davis, Johnson, Montgomery, Telfair, Toombs, Treutlen, Wheeler and Wilcox counties.
What do the federal funds mean for local governments?
The law that gives the president the authority to distribute emergency aid to local and state governments, the Stafford Act, makes the purpose of the law very clear: "to alleviate the suffering and damage which result from such disasters."
There are multiple categories of emergency aid. According to a release from the White House, the federal funds opened up by the White House's authorization are in the "Public Assitance" category, which is geared towards "mass care" like evacuation and shelter support.
Those local governments can request the federal government cover 75% of the "eligible costs" associated with the response to Hurricane and Tropical Storm Debby. The law authorizes up to $5 million in aid for a single disaster.
The emergency declaration also opens up federal logistical assistance "to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe," the White House said in their press release.
For a full list of Georgia counties put under a disaster declaration, you can click here.
Debby's impacts felt in Southeast
While Florida bore the brunt of Hurricane Debby's wrath when it made landfall as a Category 1 storm Monday morning, counties in southeast Georgia have seen impacts from Tropical Storm Debby. Primarily, the storm produced high wind gusts, which have knocked branches down, blocking roads.
Steady rains also caused flash floods and left the ground saturated, which makes trees more prone to falling over.
Biden had issued an emergency declaration on Sunday for Florida ahead of Hurricane Debby making landfall. In addition to Georgia, Biden also authorized federal emergency funds for a number of South Carolina counties on Monday as well.
Georgia also freed up considerable resources to help its counties hit by the storm, too
On Monday, Gov. Kemp authorized 2,000 Georgia National Guard troops to step in to help with the response to Tropical Storm Debby.
That's on top of other state resources in Kemp's original executive order.
For more on the impact of Hurricane Debby in Central Georgia, you can see more of our weather coverage here.