KENNESAW, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Sometimes, all someone might need is a simple shower.

Michael O’Brien understands that. That’s why he founded Serve Comm, a nonprofit organization that stands at the ready to deploy resources.

He knows he could get that call to come to south Georgia any minute now.

“Typically we bring showers, laundry and food. Also, we have the ability to have internet,” O’Brien said.

Tropical Storm Debby is a slow-moving system and is bringing heavy rain and flooding to parts of south Georgia.

Metro Atlanta sending resources to south Georgia to aid with storm damage

“If you think about how long it would take you to walk across your county, that’s about how long it’s going to take this storm to move through your county,” said Chris Stallings, director of the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency.

O’Brien said he is ready to help his neighbors. He’s been doing it since 2018.

“One of the reasons why I do this is, if something happened in my own community, there are a lot of people I can call for some favors who’d have help here immediately,” said O’Brien.

“We don’t need just teddy bears. A lot of people are going to lose valuable stuff, basic necessities,” said Stallings.

Stallings said GEMA is ready to respond as well, with utility crews and other nonprofits ready to help people impacted by Debby.

“We began prepositioning resources and allocating stockpiles of stuff to those counties we thought would be the hardest hit,” said Stallings.

The group Sirens Project told Atlanta News First they also stand at the ready to deploy resources if needed. They are located in Woodstock.

MORE COVERAGE:

Tropical Storm Debby brings power outages, flooding to south Georgia

Officials urge Georgians to prepare for Debby as it barrels toward Florida

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ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – On Monday, the Atlanta City Council approved a tax increase for property owners of neglected or blighted buildings.

“It’s very important. It gives us a tool we can actually use to get rid of some of these properties that have been sitting in our communities for decades,” said Byron Amos, the Atlanta City councilman who sponsored the bill.

Amos said the initiative targets uninhabited properties within Atlanta neighborhoods.

“We’re not targeting the grandmother or the person that’s fallen on hard times. The property must be uninhabited,” said Amos.

Amos said those on the blighted property list could see their property tax rate increase by 25 times at the discretion of a Fulton County judge.

He said those tax increases would go into effect the following calendar year, starting in January 2025.

“If you get into this situation, and you actually bring it back to the tax row, you can apply for a lower tax for a certain number of years. So you’re actually saving money in the long run because you’re bringing property back up to code,” said Amos.

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FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons will make their first road trip of the season Monday, flying to South Beach for a pair of joint practices with the Miami Dolphins before the two sides face off in the preseason opener at 7 p.m. Friday.

Atlanta and Miami are set to practice from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday at Baptist Health Training Complex in Miami Gardens, Florida. The Dolphins’ practice facility is right across the street from Hard Rock Stadium, where the preseason game takes place.

The Falcons and Dolphins met in a similar setting last August, holding two joint practices before the first preseason contest. But much is different for Atlanta, which has a new coaching staff — apart from a few assistants — and quarterback in Kirk Cousins.

As such, it’s the first external competition for the Falcons under head coach Raheem Morris — and first-year defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake is anticipating an enjoyable week.

“That’s going to be a lot of fun,” Lake said. “Our guys are probably already tired of seeing each other across the line, hitting the same guy. Now, we get to go against a really good opponent in practice in a good setting where we’re keeping everybody healthy, but at the same time, we’re rolling.

“It’s going to be very, very competitive. Looking forward to that.”

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Falcons defensive end Zach Harrison confirmed Lake’s belief, saying it will be fun hitting players in different uniforms. Neither team has seen another squad since the 2023 season.

But in addition to that aspect, Harrison sees value in using the joint practices as a measuring stick.

“It will be good to get work, to see things we need to improve on, see a different offense, see different looks,” Harrison said.

And while the week in Miami will be beneficial for readying the Falcons for the regular season opener Sept. 8, it’s perhaps more immediately significant for the front office.

General manager Terry Fontenot, assistant general manager Kyle Smith and the rest of the personnel department have been busy evaluating film from Atlanta’s first seven training camp practices. They’ll get to watch practice No. 8 — a light jogthrough Monday morning — on the flight to Miami.

But for the first-four sessions, Fontenot and Smith were simply monitoring movement skills to see if players moved the way the Falcons wanted and expected them to. The three-padded sessions that ensued thereafter proved beneficial for seeing more football-relevant plays.

Yet perhaps nothing will tell Atlanta’s decision makers as much as the two practices against Miami.

“The joint practices are so important — they’re tremendous for those evaluations,” Smith said. “Year ones get the looks and as we get closer to preseason, we’ll see how much those guys play. You love to have as many of those opportunities as you can.”

The Dolphins are coming off four consecutive winning seasons and have made the playoffs each of the past two years. They went 11-6 last year before losing to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs in the wildcard round.

Fontenot said the Falcons have a lot of respect for the accomplishments of Dolphins general manager Chris Grier and head coach Mike McDaniel.

Miami’s offense, which is led by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, features a number of explosive playmakers, including receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle and running back Devon Achane. The Dolphins’ defense ranked No. 10 league-wide in yards allowed per game at 318.3.

Atlanta has restructured its offense, from Cousins and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson to wideouts Darnell Mooney, Ray-Ray McCloud and Rondale Moore. Apart from Lake, the defense returns many of the same faces who competed against the Dolphins last summer.

Fontenot believes the Falcons are heading in the right direction and are in a better spot than they were last year — but he hasn’t quite had the chance to get an accurate measurement. The upcoming week in Miami will, if only partially, aid in his evaluation.

“When you go and practice against another team, you can get a feel — there’s a cool part about those scrimmages,” Fontenot said. “That’s a fast and athletic team in Miami. So, when you get to see your team against some other people, and you get a feel when you’re seeing them in those 1-on-1s and those different areas, you can kind of measure some things against some different competition.”

The Falcons and Dolphins begin joint practices Aug. 6 in Miami.