Washington County will receive its first disaster relief center, which will be more open throughout the CSRA

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – FEMA workers are out in full force Monday as several more disaster relief centers open across our region.

These centers have everything you need to get help. Whether for you, your whole family or even your small business.

Washington County is still cleaning up the remnants of Hurricane Helene, and Russell Riner, the county’s emergency management director, says they are in recovery mode. Their new FEMA Disaster Recovery Center is part of the county’s recovery.

The small community of Sandersville was hit hard by Hurricane Helene

“I was just impressed. I say, ‘Oh my Lord, this is terrible,'” said Sandersville resident Barbara Reebes.

Riner said he had never seen anything like the damage that came with Helene.

“I started emergency management in 2000. This lasted 25 years and I have never seen such devastation,” Riner said.

What were once neighborhoods now look more like forests.

“The miles per hour of these winds from Hurricane Helene were unprecedented for our county,” Riner said.

Many neighbors are unsure of their future.

“They didn’t know where to start because there’s never been anything like this in Washington County,” Reebes said.

This FEMA Disaster Recovery Center is another first for the county.

“I’ve never seen this kind of help before because we never needed it, but this time we needed it and they really responded,” Riner said. “It was just overwhelming that the support was really a huge help to me and our first responder community.”

FEMA says it has about 10 representatives at the center in Sandersville.

“You will come in, sit down with the FEMA representative and explain to them exactly what your situation is, what your needs are and what type of personal property you may have lost or damaged,” said Michael Hart, FEMA representative. “You will speak to them about what type of damage has occurred to your property or your home and then they will explain to you what you can get in terms of assistance and what you can arrange with an assessor to come to your property to make the assessment there.”

FEMA calls this center a critical first step.

“We are working very closely with our state and county emergency management colleagues, with our local partners and state representatives, and they are assessing the damage,” Hart said. “If the need arises to open a disaster recovery center, we will do everything we can to ensure that these centers are open in an accessible location.”

The aim is to offer the service to as many people as possible.

“We lean on each other as a community, our churches, our neighbors, our friends,” Riner said. “We as a government and first responders depend on each other during something this big, and they really stepped up and supported each other.”

In a small town like this, it’s important to lean on each other.

Riner says anyone in surrounding counties can come to the center in Sandersville.

Other help centers in our region are:

• Augusta: At the HUB for Community Innovation, 631 Chafee Ave. The office is open Tuesday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m
• Barnwell: Barnwell Regional Airport, 155 State Road S-6-398, open October 13-15, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m
• Batesburg-Leesville: Batesburg-Leesville Fire Station, 537 W. Church St., open Oct. 13-16, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m
• Ridge Springs: The Saluda County Emergency Management Department is offering assistance with completing applications on Monday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Ridge Spring Civic Center on West Main Street.
• North Augusta: Nancy Carson Library, 135 Edgefield Road, open October 14-17, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m
• Sandersville: 514B N. Harris St. The center opens Monday, Oct. 14, at 1 p.m. Opening hours: Monday to Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Sunday from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m

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