[ July 23, 2023 ] The following was posted on Pickens County Government Facebook page concerning the storms on Thursday, July 20, 2023:

Representatives from the US National Weather Service Peachtree City Georgia and Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency have been in the county today, and they have confirmed the following:

*The area around Fitts Road is confirmed to have been hit by an EF 1 Tornado (speeds between 86-110 mph)

* The Hinton Community is confirmed to have had an EF 0 Tornado (speeds between 65-85 mph)

*The area around Yellow Creek and Four Mile Church was confirmed as straight-line winds

Obviously, many other areas were the result of these storms staying on the ground for a period of time, or other straight-line winds, but they have confirmed actual tornadoes did strike Pickens County.

We would also like to thank all of the men and women of 911, Fire & EMS, Public Works, Public Utilities, the Sheriff's Office, and several State agencies that have been helping us throughout the past few days. We are also thankful that our Public Utilities Director, Phillip Dean, was able to step in and assist as the Deputy EMA Director during this event.

Teams are out today conducting damage assessments. The assessments are to verify structures that were damaged during Thursday's storms. This data is used to provide GEMA with real estimate of total damage.

If you have damage to your home,and you are able, please email your name, address, whether or not the home is insured, and pictures of the damage to pdean@pickenscountyga.gov.

This will both expedite the process and ensure that no home is overlooked.