ATLANTA, Ga. (WALB) – All Georgia Disaster Recovery Centers will be closed for the holidays.

For the upcoming Christmas holiday, the centers will be closed from Tuesday, Dec. 24, until Thursday, Dec. 26.

The centers will be closed from Tuesday, Dec. 31, until Thursday, Jan. 2, for the New Year holiday.

All centers are also closed on Sundays.

While the centers are closed, you can call the FEMA helpline at (800) 621-3362, or apply or check your application on https://www.disasterassistance.gov/. The helpline will be closed on Dec. 25 and Jan. 1.

Survivors may visit any one of the FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers throughout the state to apply for assistance. Click here to find a center near you.

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To stay up to date on all the latest news as it develops, follow WALB on Facebook and X (Twitter). For more South Georgia news, download the WALB News app from the Apple Store or Google Play.

Copyright 2024 WALB. All rights reserved.

The first victory of the new 12-team College Football Playoff goes to Notre Dame, as Marcus Freeman and the Irish blasted Indiana at home in South Bend to advance on to the quarterfinal. Their reward? A date with No. 2 seed Georgia, which earned a first-round bye after outlasting Texas in a classic SEC Championship Game earlier this month.

After a dominant performance against the Hoosiers, Notre Dame won’t be scared of anybody. The Irish defensive front manhandled the nation’s top scoring offense, while Jeremiyah Love and Co. outrushed Indiana 193-63. Notre Dame was the physically superior team from the opening snap, but now the competition ratchets up considerably against one of the most talented teams in the country. Which of these two teams is installed as the early favorite? The early spread and total have been released, so let’s break it all down.

Time: Jan. 1, 8:45 p.m. ET
Channel: ESPN
Location: Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, La.

According to FanDuel, Notre Dame opened up as 1.5-point favorites. However, the spread quickly flipped, and UGA became a 1.5-point favorite. There was also movement with the total, which opened at 46.5 before dropping to 45.5.

The big unknown looming over this game is Georgia’s QB situation, as redshirt sophomore Gunner Stockton is set to start for the Dawgs with Carson Beck unavailable due to an arm injury suffered in the conference title game against Texas. (Beck is likely out for the rest of Georgia’s season, with Smart saying earlier this week that his quarterback is still weighing surgical options.)

Of course, Stockton still did just enough to lead Georgia to a dramatic OT win over Texas in Atlanta, completing 12 of 16 passes for 71 yards (albeit with one brutal interception). And when this Georgia team is rolling, they’re commanding on both lines of scrimmage, capable of bullying just about anyone in the country. Even with Beck out, you can understand why Vegas would consider the Dawgs a slight favorite, especially considering that we still haven’t seen Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard succeed when pressed against a great defense.

Still, an essential pick ’em here feels about right, considering how stout both of these defenses are and how battled tested these teams have proven themselves to be.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) – The U.S. Senate passed the Water Resource Development Act of 2024 (WRDA), Thursday, Dec. 19, sending the bill to the White House with several Georgia priorities.

Those priorities include directing the Army Corps of Engineers to study further deepening and widening the Port of Savannah to accommodate larger vessels.

In January 2024, Senator Warnock led the Georgia delegation in a letter to key leaders requesting support for this study authorization.

Key wins secured by Warnock for the Coastal Georgia area include the following:

• Savannah Harbor Deepening Feasibility Study: Provision directing the Corps to study further deepening and widening the Port of Savannah.

• Coastal Georgia Environmental Infrastructure: Authorizes $50 million for the Corps to provide drinking water and wastewater infrastructure assistance in Georgia’s coastal communities, providing those most impacted by climate change and sea level rise with another tool to address their water infrastructure needs. (in Bryan, Camden, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, and McIntosh counties.)

• City of Tybee Island Shoreline Feasibility Study: This provision authorizes the Corps to study the federal interest in a new beach nourishment project along Tybee Island.

• New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam (NSBLD): Directs the Corps to fully repair the NSBLD to ensure it can maintain the pool at a desired level, as well as construct an off-channel rock ramp fish passage structure.

Copyright 2024 WTOC. All rights reserved.