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My heart goes out to everyone impacted by the devastation unleashed by Hurricane Helene. Doug and I are thinking of those who tragically lost their lives and we are keeping all those who loved them in our prayers during the difficult days ahead.

President Biden and I remain committed to ensuring that no community or state has to respond to this disaster alone. Federal personnel are on the ground to support families that have been impacted so that critical resources like food, water, and generators are available. We have also approved emergency declarations for Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee – making resources and funding available to maximize our coordinated response efforts at the local, state, and federal levels.

As we continue to respond and as communities recover, our administration will remain in constant contact with state and local officials. I have been briefed by FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell and will continue to receive regular updates.

Greetings everybody. First of all, let me extend my gratitude to the whole team here at Second Harvest and everybody across the community in Valdosta and Lowndes County who is pulling together to get urgent relief to communities in need across South Georgia.

“I had the pleasure of joining with the team here today to help assemble some hot meals and deliver them to folks, some of whom haven't had a hot meal in quite some time now, and to assemble some food boxes inside. Some of the pods out in the community are getting ice and vital hygienic supplies to folks.

“We know that folks are hurting right now. Now we have an extended power outage that may last days more, and we're here to try to provide whatever assistance we can.

“I just want to emphasize my gratitude to the Mayor for his extraordinary leadership and communication. He has kept me briefed on the City's needs in the days leading up to the storm, through the height of the storm overnight, and since. I'm pleased to be here with you.

“Thank you to the American Red Cross, the United Way, Michael Smith, and all the elected leaders and law enforcement, and public safety and emergency management personnel, who are responding so actively to this crisis in South Georgia.

“As you all may be aware, there are now 17 confirmed fatalities in the State of Georgia, including one Blackshear firefighter.

“The whole state is united in our grief, our concern, our support for those who have lost loved ones, for those who have sustained injuries, for those who have sustained property damage, and for those who are now struggling in the aftermath.

“The Mayor escorted me through parts of the city today, and it's clear that this storm has had a catastrophic impact on neighborhoods across Valdosta and on communities across South Georgia.

“There remain over half a million Georgians who currently lack power, and it may take many days for power to be fully restored in communities across the state.

“There are over 140 blockages on state routes across Georgia, and as I saw just in Valdosta today, neighborhoods, driveways remain blocked. There's a lot of work to do to remove downed trees and power lines. So this work is ongoing.

“And of course, our agricultural sector has been catastrophically damaged by this storm. I've been on the phone the last couple of days with foresters, with pecan growers, with growers of every major crop in Georgia, and it's going to take a lot of effort and resources to dig out from the crop losses we've seen from our fall crops that are still in the ground, as well as our pecan orchards that have been knocked over.

“So I'm here to assist, to demonstrate my support on behalf of the whole state for South Georgia, to return to the United States Senate with a full report of what communities across South Georgia are enduring, and I'll be here alongside you, Mayor and everybody, every step of the way, as we provide immediate relief to families in need, as we recover, and as we rebuild.

“I will be speaking this evening with the FEMA Administrator again, as well as with the Secretary of Agriculture to brief them on what I’ve seen while I’m here in south Georgia, so that the Federal government can bring its full weight to support the response here.