FULTON COUNTY, Ga. – Thousands of Florida residents are fleeing to Georgia ahead of Hurricane Milton and hotels and motels are filling up.

Hurricane update: Milton remains powerful Category 4 storm ahead of Florida landfall

Traffic on Interstate 75 was heavy on Tuesday and Florida residents told FOX 5 Atlanta that they spent hours on the road trying to escape the state before Milton arrived. 

Rest stops up and down Georgia highways were packed on Tuesday with families, including pets.

Florida residents arriving in Georgia ahead of Hurricane Milton

The evacuation has been further complicated by damage left behind by Hurricane Helene just two weeks ago. 

Georgia officials are advising evacuees to avoid south Georgia and instead seek shelter in places like Albany, Columbus, Macon, and Atlanta. 

On Tuesday evening, Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency posted a warning on social media that lodging in Georgia was filling up quickly. According to GEMA, several hotels were already sold out or had very few rooms left.

On Wednesday morning, Georgia State Parks & Historic Sites shared a post saying many state parks that still have cottages and campsites available for those who have left Florida and are seeking refuge. 

As of 8 a.m. Wednesday, Milton was once again classified as a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 175 mph. GEMA says that further strengthening is possible through tomorrow as it moves northeastward towards Florida. Although Milton is expected to weaken before making landfall, the wind field is also expected to expand, making it a much larger hurricane, which means its impacts will be felt even in south Georgia.

At this time, Milton is expected to make landfall near Tampa, Saint Petersburg and Sarasota on Wednesday evening. 

As a result, the following Georgia counties could receive 2-6 inches of rainfall and tropical storm force winds of 40-50 mph: Camden, Glynn, McIntosh, Liberty, Bryan, Chatham, Charlton, Ware, Echols, Clinch, Brantley, Pierce, Wayne, Long, Appling, Bacon, Atkinson, Lanier, Lowndes, and Brooks. Flash flooding is possible where the heaviest rainfall occurs — likely in Camden, Glynn, McIntosh, Brantley, Charlton, and Ware Counties. Areas farther inland should receive less than 2 inches of rain and wind gusts should stay below 35 mph. The timing for impacts in Southeast Georgia (heavy rain and gusty winds) will be Wednesday afternoon through Thursday afternoon.

OTHER RECENT STORIES

Atlanta Motor Speedway has also opened an area for evacuees ahead of Hurricane Milton. Click here for more details.

Additionally, there are several shelters available. For an up-to-date list, click here. 

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – A Rockdale County official died after giving testimony at a hearing on the BioLab chemical fire, according to the Georgia House Democratic Caucus.

The caucus said Rockdale Soil and Water Conservation District State Board Chairman Kenny Johnson “complained of shortness of breath and subsequently collapsed in the hallway” outside of the hearing. State Rep. Viola Davis, who is a nurse, administered CPR before professionals arrived. Johnson was taken to the hospital, where he later died.

The hearing was on the impact of the fire at the BioLab facility in Conyers on the surrounding community. The fire led to a huge hazardous plume appearing Rockdale County and other parts of metro Atlanta; it resulted in evacuation and shelter-in-place orders that are still in effect for some residents.

In a statement to Atlanta News First Monday, Johnson called the fire an “environmental disaster.”

Rep. Davis released a statement following Johnson’s death.

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ATHENS — The last time Georgia hosted Mississippi State, the Georgia Bulldogs came out in black jerseys. Georgia won that day 31-24, which took place back during the 2020 COVID season.

But based on what head coach Kirby Smart said on Tuesday night, don’t expect Georgia to repeat its outfit.

“I don’t think that has one thing to do with the fan base,” Smart said. “I just think that’s hokey pokey. I mean, it’s great for recruiting, and we may do it sometime. I mean, I’m not anti-doing it, but that shouldn’t do anything for your atmosphere.”

Georgia last wore an alternate jersey in the 2021 Peach Bowl win over Cincinnati. Georgia wore an alternate jerseys three times during the 2020 season.

But Georgia hasn’t worn an alternate jersey since then. The Bulldogs do have recruits wear things such as black jerseys and white helmets while on recruiting visits, but since the start of the 2021 season, Georgia has worn its traditional uniforms for home and road games.

“Some of the best places I’ve played, great atmosphere,” Smart said. “They never change their uniform, they’re traditionalist. If it takes changing the uniform to get people fired up, then I’m at the wrong place.”

There have been plenty of discussions around the game day atmosphere at Georgia following comments made by Smart this weekend, where Smart voiced his disappointment with the fan base.

Smart has stood by the comments that he made and stresses that Sanford Staidum is not some lingering issue but rather a recent problem.

“I said earlier last time about, we had coaches play here last year, said it was the greatest atmosphere they had ever been in,” Smart said. “And so for somebody to say that from outside, it’s not like it’s all wrong. It’s really relative to what time the game is and who the game is. But we can’t afford to do that. You know what I mean? We can’t do that.”

Part of Smart’s frustrations likely stems from the lack of juice in a rivalry game like Auburn. This weekend’s game could have a similar vibe as the Bulldogs are a 34-point favorite against Mississippi State.

But with recent upsets in college football and a spirited Tuesday practice that Smart praised as one of the best, he’s not worried about his team playing flat.

“We don’t rely on the motivation of others,” Smart said. “I got a great analogy. Somebody sent me and said, ‘if they’re doing a Netflix documentary on you this week, who would you want to watch it? And would they approve? Would you send it to your parents? Would you send it to an NFL team if they did a Netflix documentary on your performance and your pride, and how you practiced this week?’

“And I was shocked, they must all thought the Netflix documentary was  on them today, because they practiced as good as they have ever done. So just give them a little attention, and they eat it up.”

Georgia’s game against Mississippi State is set for a 4:15 p.m. ET kickoff on the SEC Network.

Kirby Smart shoots down any idea of alternate uniforms for motivation