Lawmakers Huddle: A year later, Georgia lawmakers recall helping communities after Hurricane Helene

Caption

Destruction in Southeast Georgia's Toombs County is seen after Hurricane Helene in September 2024.

Credit: State Sen. Blake Tillery

Natural disasters often remind elected officials of their most essential role: being there for their communities in times of crisis.  

Hurricane Helene tested that responsibility, pushing lawmakers to provide support, guidance, and even basic needs to their constituents. 

Senate Minority Leader Harold Jones II (D-Augusta) described the devastation in Augusta’s urban neighborhoods as something the area had never experienced. 

“It was really bad,” Jones said. “I mean, probably the best way to put it was like a war zone.” 

Jones and Rep. Karlton Howard (D-Augusta) drove to nearby counties that still had power to purchase water for Augusta residents.  

In one case, Jones recalled a young man calling to ask for help in a neighborhood cut off from communication. The person was surprised when Jones showed up, and he’s glad he did. 

“We had a young lady, actually an older lady, who was homeless because (the hurricane) had hit her trailer,” Jones said. "She had spent the night in her car. So, we were able to get her assistance to actually get her out of her car."

In South Georgia, Rep. Bill Werkheiser (R-Glennville) admitted he initially underestimated Helene, treating the warning like any other hurricane alert. 

He recalls thinking, “We’ll watch it, but it won’t affect me.” 

But what he expected to last just a few minutes turned into “three-and-a-half hours of just insane intensity.”  

Even a year later, he said, the storm’s impact is still visible. He only recently removed a 50-foot tree from his yard. Werkheiser said cleanup continues in Jeff Davis and Coffee counties with “mounds and mounds of trees.” There are homes still covered in blue tarps. 

Both legislators work hard to help their constituents return to some sense of normalcy. 

Jones said he helped other with food and water, then returned to a home without power. 

“That's just the life you live as an elected official, he said.