To stream 13WMAZ on your phone, you need the 13WMAZ app. Example video title will go here for this video Example video title will go here for this video HAZLEHURST, Ga. — Georgia farmers, ranchers and foresters impacted by Hurricane Helene can begin applying for state relief money Monday , nearly two years after the storm tore through the state and devastated the timber industry. The Georgia Department of Agriculture opens the application portal March 16 for the Georgia Hurricane Helene Block Grant Program, which distributes $531,236,000 in federal relief funds. The application window closes at midnight on April 27. For timber farmers in central and south Georgia, Monday’s opening marks the first major reimbursement opportunity since Helene made landfall in late September 2024. The Georgia Forestry Commission estimates the storm damaged or destroyed roughly 1.47 million acres of forestland statewide, with total timber losses reaching approximately $1.28 billion. John Morris knows those numbers firsthand. Morris manages about 22,000 acres of timberland across five counties in southeast Georgia, with the heaviest damage concentrated in Jeff Davis County. He estimates Helene cost his
