Governor Nathan Deal has declared a state of emergency for 92 Georgia counties in response to Hurricane Michael.

Deal said that the state is mobilizing all available resources to ensure the public safety of Georgians.

“In light of the storm’s forecasted track, I encourage Georgians in the affected counties to be prepared and remain vigilant,” Deal said. “We will continue to monitor Hurricane Michael’s path and GEMA/HS is leading our preparedness efforts. We are also working with federal, state and local officials to provide public shelter and accommodate those evacuating from other states.”

The state of emergency affects Bulloch, Chatham and surrounding counties.

For the full list of affected counties click here.

Update on Hurricane Michael

The National Hurricane Center provided an update on Michael at 4 a.m. Tuesday.

According to the update, damaging winds are forecast to extend inland across portions of the Florida Panhandle, southern Georgia and southeast Alabama as Michael moves inland. 

According to the NHC, parts of southeast Georgia have a 60 to 80 percent chance of receiving 39 mph tropical storm force winds when the storm crosses the main land on Wednesday morning. 

The NHC also reports that heavy rainfall from Michael could produce life-treating flash flooding into portions of Georgia. 

Georgia Southern University said on Monday that an update would be post on Tuesday. 

The George-Anne will update this article as more information becomes available.

Matthew Enfinger, The George-Anne Editor-in-Chief, gaeditor@georgiasouthern.edu

Brendan Ward, The George-Anne Coverage/Daily Managing Editor, gamed@georgiasouthern.edu