Press Release from EMA Director Jerry Harmon:

This past Thursday night into Friday morning Americus and Sumter County was set to take a direct hit from Hurricane Helene. When this storm made landfall, it took a turn to the east taking Sumter County out of harm’s way and for that we are very thankful.

Unfortunately, however, the counties to our east took the hit we were bracing for and the destruction was nothing short of catastrophic. Our neighboring counties are suffering devastating loss and facing great difficulty meeting the simplest of everyday needs. Simply put, the residents of these communities and the first responders trying to help them are overwhelmed and need help. So, we currently have firefighters from this area in some of the affected counties assisting with any need that they have.

Sumter County firefighters working in Hazlehurst are helping and assessing needs now and have reached out to me with specific needs in that area. Food and drinking water are a desperate immediate need. So, in an effort to provide further help, Sumter County Fire Rescue will be collecting nonperishable food and water at 300 McMath Mill Road tomorrow.

Because it is an immediate need, the collection window will be short. SCFR will leave to deliver the supplies tomorrow afternoon at 4:00 p.m. Anyone wanting or able to donate nonperishable food items or water may stop by and drop it off at the address above prior to 3:45 tomorrow. We will also accept monetary donations and use those to purchase food and water to take with us. We were very thankful that we did not take a direct hit from this storm and want to be able to help those that were not as fortunate as we were.