ATLANTA — Gov. Sonny Perdue issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency in six counties affected by the severe weather that passed through Georgia Saturday night. The six counties are Bibb, Carroll, Douglas, Jefferson, Johnson and Laurens.

The executive order allows for state resources to be available for response and recovery activities, and calls for the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) to activate the state’s Emergency Operations Plan.

While damage assessments are still being calculated, there has been one fatality reported in Laurens County, hundreds of homes damaged across the state and public buildings such as the Georgia Forestry Commission headquarters and facilities at Macon State College have been impacted.