ATLANTA – Georgia’s two U.S. senators urged their colleagues Wednesday to approve a federal disaster relief package for victims of Hurricane Helene.

Democrat Jon Ossoff testified Wednesday morning at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on a supplemental spending request from President Joe Biden for nearly $100 billion to help Americans impacted by several hurricanes and other disasters. Later Wednesday, fellow Democrat Raphael Warnock took to the Senate floor to push for senators to act on Biden’s request before the end of the year.

Helene rampaged through South Georgia and north through the Augusta area on Sept. 26-27, causing heavy rainfall and widespread flooding as well as extensive power outages.

Ossoff said much of the damage occurred to Georgia farms.

“Hurricane-force winds and torrential rains destroyed fall crops in the field, knocked down pecan orchards that growers spent decades cultivating, and damaged a million and a half acres of timberland,” he said. “Without our help, many family farms will fold. If they go under, our rural communities go under.”

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has allocated $229 million thus far in assistance to Georgians impacted by Hurricane Helene. But Warnock told his Senate colleagues said more needs to be done.

The storm killed 34 Georgians – including six children – and left more than 200,000 homes damaged.

“As we pray with our lips for those we lost, we must pray with our legs to help those still reeling from this devastation,” Warnock said. “The time to act is now.”

The pleas for disaster relief from Ossoff and Warnock came one day after Georgia’s other top elected official, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, sent a letter urging the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate Appropriations committees to approve $12.2 billion in relief aid for Georgians impacted by Helene.