State of emergency issued for 30 Georgia counties

Deal initially issued a state of emergency for six coastal counties on Wednesday.

Acting on a recommendation from the state's Emergency Operations Command, Deal issued a state of emergency for Bryan, Camden, Chatham, Glynn, Liberty and McIntosh counties on Wednesday. It has been updated to include the following counties: Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Brantley, Bryan, Bulloch, Burke, Camden, Candler, Charlton, Chatham, Clinch, Coffee, Echols, Effingham, Emanuel, Evans, Glynn, Jenkins, Jeff Davis, Liberty, Long, McIntosh, Pierce, Screven, Tattnall, Toombs, Treutlen, Wayne and Ware counties.

Deal also issued a mandatory evacuation order for all areas east of I-95, all of Chatham County and some areas west of I-95 that could be impacted by potential storm surge from Hurricane Irma. The executive order also authorized up to 5,000 Georgia National Guard members to be on state active duty to support Hurricane Irma response and recovery

Contraflow on I-16 will begin at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 9.

"The state is mobilizing all available resources to ensure public safety ahead of Hurricane Irma," said Deal in a release. "I encourage all Georgians in our coastal areas that could be impacted by this storm to evacuate the area as soon as possible. Beginning Saturday, a mandatory evacuation order will take effect for Chatham County, all areas east of I-95 and some areas west of I-95 that could be impacted by this catastrophic hurricane and storm surge. GEMA/HS continues leading our preparedness efforts as we coordinate with federal, state and local officials to safely evacuate the coastal areas, provide public shelter and minimize the disruption of traffic. Finally, I ask all Georgians to join me in praying for the safety of our people and all those in Hurricane Irma's path."