Georgia continues to recover from Helene, Bio Lab fire

(The Center Square) – Georgia residents will see lower prices when they fill their gas tanks on Friday through an executive order of the governor temporarily suspending the gas tax.

Gov. Brian Kemp issued the order in response to Hurricane Helene, which has devastated some counties near the Florida and South Carolina lines.

The gas tax is 32 cents and the tax on diesel is 36 cents, according to the Georgia Department of Revenue's website.

The suspension will last until the end of the state of emergency, which Kemp extended through Wednesday, Oct. 9.

Georgia is one of five states hit hard by the hurricane that made landfall late Thursday night and traveled through Georgia, the Carolinas and into Tennessee. Kemp and First Lady Marty Kemp are continuing to tour southeast Georgia on Wednesday.

Twenty-five Georgians died as a result of the storm.

President Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration for Appling, Brooks, Coffee, Columbia, Jefferson, Liberty, Lowndes, Pierce, Richmond, Tattnall and Toombs counties in Georgia on Tuesday. The declaration was later extended to Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Bulloch, Burke, Candler, Chatham, Clinch, Colquitt, Cook, Echols, Emanuel, Evans, Glascock, Irwin, Jeff Davis, Jenkins, Johnson, Lanier, Laurens, Lincoln, McDuffie, Montgomery, Screven, Telfair, Treutlen, Ware, Washington and Wheeler counties.

The Georgia Emergency Management Agency is maintaining a list of where storm victims can get help on its website.

Emergency officials are also monitoring the effects of a fire at Bio Lab in Conyers that happened early Sunday morning, and metro Atlantans may smell chlorine and see a haze on Thursday morning, according to a release.

"The current weather models show the winds will begin to shift from the east to the west after sunset Wednesday," the Georgia Emergency Management Agency said Wednesday. "Smoke is predicted to settle towards the ground as it moves toward Atlanta. There is a high likelihood that people across Metro Atlanta will wake up on Thursday morning seeing haze and smelling chlorine."

Chlorine can be detected by smell before it reaches harmful levels, according to the agency. Higher levels were detected at the plant on Tuesday night.

"Workers on site have continued to make progress in neutralizing the product," the agency said. "As the neutralization process continues, periodic increases in chlorine levels around the facility are expected."

The Georgia Environmental Protection Division, the Georgia Department of Public Health and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are working with state officials to monitor the weather air quality and emissions with the help of the Trace Atmospheric Gas Analyzer that provides real-time updates.