Summarized by the Alliance for Fort Gordon
Published August 28, 2025
Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson woke up at 3:47 a.m. on Sept. 27 and found his neighborhood unrecognizable. Hurricane Helene’s high winds and historic flooding had toppled trees and snapped power lines. Maneuvering his way around these obstacles, Johnson walked to the main road and flagged down the only car in sight, an iHeart Radio employee tasked with bringing the local station back online. Johnson hitched a ride to the city’s emergency operations center. While en route, he learned his cousin’s husband was one of the people who died.Img 8cb7e3f600ee 1
“We lost seven lives in Augusta and Richmond County alone,” Johnson says. “Thirty- one lives were lost throughout the CRSA.