Browse Natural Disasters Stories - Page 3

The University of Georgia’s 86 weather stations record data 24 hours a day, seven days a week across Georgia. Farmers use this data to help them determine when to plant and treat their crops. During Hurricane Michael, the system helped the National Weather Service to track the storm and save lives.

Just weeks after Hurricane Michael blew across southwest Georgia, area farmers have moved from a state of shock into full recovery mode. Before dealing with their own losses, many farmers in Decatur, Early, Miller, Mitchell and Seminole counties helped clear roads, cover roofs and check on their neighbors.

All farmers with crops and commodities affected by Hurricane Michael are invited to attend an agriculture disaster assistance information session to be held at the University of Georgia Tifton Campus Conference Center at 2 p.m. Monday, October 22.

Georgia peanut farmers, still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Michael on October 10-11, are facing uncertainty about when and where to unload their crop after harvest, says University of Georgia Cooperative Extension peanut agronomist Scott Monfort.

What was an extremely promising Georgia cotton crop was devastated when Hurricane Michael ravaged south Georgia Oct. 10-11. According to Jared Whitaker, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension cotton agronomist, the prospects of 1,500 to 1,800 pounds of dryland cotton for some producers were reduced, resulting in 80 to 90 percent losses in some fields.

Hurricane Michael blew across southwest Georgia on Oct. 10, causing more than $2 billion in losses to the state’s agriculture industry, according to early estimates from University of Georgia Cooperative Extension agricultural economists and Extension agents.

With the state’s late summer and fall vegetable crop close to harvest, Georgia vegetable farmers estimate more than $480 million in losses from Hurricane Michael.

The 2018 Atlantic hurricane season kicked off with Subtropical Storm Alberto in May, and more powerful storms are anticipated as the season progresses. The best way to ensure the safety of your family during hurricane season is to be prepared with a disaster plan. If you are a pet owner, that plan should include your pets.

All hands on deck! Stormy weather and hurricanes can blow through with little warning this time of year. Preparation before the storm hits can mean the difference between safe food and water and contaminated supplies that can make you sick.

Longtime residents of Georgia may remember the devastating floods of Tropical Storm Alberto in July 1994. The rain was so intense that Georgia’s one-day rainfall record was set during that storm: 21.10 inches of rain was recorded in Americus, Georgia, over a 24-hour period ending on July 6, 1994, as the storm stalled over the state. Despite that incredible record and the resulting damage, the National Hurricane Center did not retire that storm’s name. “Alberto” is the first on the list of Atlantic tropical storm names for the 2018 season, which begins on June 1.