Kemp’s Isaias emergency order covered all 159 Georgia counties

Gov. Brian Kemp declared an updated state of emergency for all 159 Georgia counties on Oct. 8, 2026, as Hurricane Isaias approached. The governor’s office said the declaration enabled emergency teams to arrange and position resources ahead of the storm. Kemp also directed the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, or GEMA/HS, to activate the State Operations Center.

The statewide order set preparations in motion across every county, while the weather effects later reported were concentrated in parts of Georgia. The governor’s announcement urged residents to prepare for possible severe weather. The declaration was a preparedness action, not a report that storm damage had occurred throughout the state.

The governor’s 2026 executive-order archive lists the action as Executive Order 10.08.26.01, declaring a state of emergency for Hurricane Isaias. The governor’s announcement said the operations center activation would begin early Friday afternoon, Oct. 9. CBS News Atlanta reported that the activation was scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday and that response supplies had been positioned.

Guard call-up was a contingency

CBS News Atlanta reported that the order allowed state resources to be positioned and authorized Kemp to call up as many as 500 Georgia National Guard troops if needed. The report said officials did not then expect to need the troops. That described a possible call-up, not a confirmed deployment.

The preparations preceded Isaias’ landfall near Destin, Florida, at about 8:30 p.m. Central Daylight Time on Oct. 9. The National Hurricane Center reported maximum sustained winds of 105 mph at landfall. Isaias made landfall in Florida; the Georgia reports that followed described rain and continuing weather hazards in parts of the state.

Rain and hazards reported in parts of Georgia

By the morning of Saturday, Oct. 10, some areas south and east of Interstate 85 in the south metro had received 2 to 4 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service’s Peachtree City office. The weather service also forecast additional rain in parts of east Georgia.

A Saturday evening forecast discussion said Isaias-related effects, including gusty winds and heavy rain, could continue into early Sunday, Oct. 11. It also noted concerns about isolated flooding. Those forecasts and rainfall reports describe conditions in specific parts of Georgia, not equal impacts across all 159 counties.

The sequence moved from statewide preparation before the storm to reported rain and lingering hazards in some areas afterward. The governor’s office described the emergency declaration as a way to position resources, while the weather service’s reports documented localized rainfall and forecast risks. Neither the conditional Guard provision nor the statewide scope of the order, by itself, establishes that troops were deployed or that every county experienced the same effects.