Augusta, GA

Harris heads to a hard-hit Augusta reeling from Helene water and power outages

Published

2 years ago

October 2, 2024

Harris heads to a hard-hit Augusta reeling from Helene water and power outages

This story was updated on Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 1:54 p.m.

In Augusta, Georgia, a line wrapped around a massive shopping center, past the shuttered Waffle House and at least a half mile down the road to get water Tuesday.

At 11 a.m. it still hadn’t moved. Kristie Nelson arrived with her daughter three hours earlier. It was a muggy morning for October but they had their windows down and the car turned off because gas is a precious commodity too.

“It’s been rough,” said Nelson, who still hasn’t gotten a firm date from the power company for her electricity to be restored. “I’m just dying for a hot shower.”

The city — along with Valdosta — was one of the hardest-hit in Georgia by Hurricane Helene on Friday. Vice President Kamala Harris will arrive there Wednesday afternoon to survey the damage, meet with local officials and provide updates on federal actions being taken to support recovery efforts.

President Joe Biden will visit Georgia and Florida on Thursday to tour impacted areas and meet with affected communities. Former President Donald Trump was in Valdosta on Monday.

Augusta and Richmond County have five centers for water set up for its more than 200,000 people. The city hasn’t provided specifics on the durations of outages for both water and power.

Members of the Civil Air Patrol load water for Hurricane Helene relief into a pickup truck at a water station in Augusta, Ga., on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)

Local resident Sherry Brown was converting power from the alternator of her car to keep her refrigerator running and taking “bird baths” with water she collected in coolers. In another part of the city, people waited in line for more than three hours to try to get water from one of five water centers.

All around the city, trees are snapped in half and power poles are leaning. Traffic lights are out — and some are just gone from the winds that hit in the dark early Friday morning from Hurricane Helene.

“It’s miserable here,” said David Reese who was probably looking at spending his entire day in a line for water, then for gas. “But I’m still feeling blessed. I’ve heard it’s a lot worse other places.”

Some 350,000 people are still without power in Georgia as of Wednesday afternoon, according to poweroutage.us. The storm killed at least 166 people across six states, including 25 in Georgia.

President Joe Biden, who is set to survey the devastation in North and South Carolina Wednesday, estimated the recovery could cost billions.

“We have to jump start this recovery process,” he said Tuesday. “People are scared to death. This is urgent.”

Vice President Harris will make remarks about the recovery efforts from Augusta at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

WABE’s Patrick Saunders contributed to this report.

Source link

Augusta, GA

Documentary premiere sheds light on Augusta homelessness, poverty

Published

2 hours ago

May 31, 2026

Press Room

Documentary premiere sheds light on Augusta homelessness, poverty

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – A red carpet premiere was held for a documentary examining homelessness, poverty and economic hardship.

The premiere for the documentary “Season of Drought” took place at the First Presbyterian Church on Telfair Street on Saturday.

The film includes experiences from people facing economic hardship in America, including in Augusta.

Attendees included Nomi Stanton from GAP Ministries and Jackson Drumgoole of Bridge Builder Communities.

Lia Barnes, a boom operator on the production, said working on the film was a great experience.

“My major at Augusta University is digital and visual storytelling so this is perfect for my field of work,” Barnes said. “I was more of an assistant boom operator. I helped but everyone on the set taught me a lot about what it means to be on a set, not just what it means to be a sound operator on set but everything else that has to do with it.”

The event also included an awards presentation and networking reception.

Source link

Augusta, GA

Volunteers come together to clean up Augusta neighborhood

Published

12 hours ago

May 30, 2026

Press Room

Volunteers come together to clean up Augusta neighborhood

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Volunteers came together Saturday to help clean up an Augusta neighborhood.

The cleanup took place on Wheeless Road and Dorn Road.

Jeremiah Atkinson started the event as a way to clean up trash dumped in the area and help the community.

He said they had at least 30 bags picked up as of Saturday morning.

“My message is if you see one piece of trash, pick it up and help Augusta clean it up because I feel like that would be more efficient, just pick up one piece of trash a day, just one to help out the community,” Atkinson said.

Organizers also provided snacks for volunteers.

Source link

Augusta, GA

What is the cheapest place to buy a home in GA? This city ranks 8 in US

Published

22 hours ago

May 30, 2026

Press Room

What is the cheapest place to buy a home in GA? This city ranks 8 in US

Housing costs are often the biggest Georgians deal with every month, so it’s important to try and save money where possible.

Last week, WalletHub released its ranking of the most affordable cities to buy a home. It analyzed 300 cities based on 10 metrics, with the biggest weight going to housing affordability and cost per square foot.

Best city to buy a home in Georgia?

Augusta ranked the highest among Georgia cities, ranking 8th overall and 3rd best in the midsized cities list.

Augusta real estate prices

According to Zillow, as of March, the median list price for a house in Georgia is $205,000 with a median sale price of $187,283. About 57% of sales are under the list price.

The average rent, as of April, is $1,365 per month.

Augusta cost of living

The MIT Living Wage Calculator reports the hourly pay needed to support yourself and/or your family, assuming full-time employment. For Richmond County (Augusta), it’s $20.31 for one adult, $28.16 for a two-adult household with one working, and $14.08 for a two-adult household with both working.

Children obviously increase the wage needed. Depending on how many adults are working, the necessary pay figures may increase by up to $13 for just one child, with more needed for additional children.

Worst city to buy a home in Georgia?

The Georgia city with the lowest ranking on the list overall was Sandy Springs. However, with 300 cities, landing at No. 151 doesn’t make it nearly the worst in the nation. Sandy Springs was No. 56 on the small cities list.