Temporary Housing on Your Lot in Southwest Georgia After Hurricane Isaias

This page is for homeowners in Bainbridge, Thomasville, Cairo, and the unincorporated parts of Decatur, Thomas, and Grady counties in southwest Georgia, if Hurricane Isaias left your home unlivable. We did not find a statewide Georgia rule on living in a travel trailer on your own lot while you rebuild, and the six answers here differ. Thomasville and Thomas County have written emergency provisions for a temporary RV while a home is repaired; Decatur County caps living in an RV on a lot at 30 days a year unless it is permitted like a manufactured home; and Bainbridge, Cairo, and Grady County limit living in an RV on a residential lot. 1st Choice Living has placed furnished travel trailers on homeowners' own property, nationwide, since 2004, and we bill the carrier directly under ALE where the claim covers it.

Hurricane Isaias and the Southwest Georgia area

Storm facts as of October 9, 2026, 10 p.m. CDT, from official sources:

• The storm. In its 4 p.m. CDT advisory on October 9, 2026, the National Hurricane Center said Isaias was a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 115 mph, and that it was forecast to make landfall along the coast of the western Florida Panhandle that evening and then move across Alabama. Source
• Warnings. That advisory had a hurricane warning in effect from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to the Bay and Gulf County line in Florida, and said storm surge could reach 6 to 9 feet above ground from the Alabama and Florida border to Grayton Beach, Florida. Source

The advisory forecast 4 to 8 inches of rain across southern Alabama, the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend, and southwest Georgia. It said flash, urban, and river flooding was possible, with considerable impacts likely across much of southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle into southwestern Georgia, and that the tornado risk would continue that evening and night across the Florida Panhandle, southeast Alabama, and southern Georgia, and Saturday across parts of Georgia.

The National Hurricane Center's discussion with that advisory said the greatest tornado risk was east of the center, particularly across the Florida Panhandle into southern Georgia, and that damaging wind gusts were likely over a large portion of the Southeast; it told residents to prepare for power outages and be aware of the potential for falling trees. The advisory's coastal warnings did not include Georgia; for inland watches and warnings it pointed to the local National Weather Service office.

This corner of Georgia is inland, so the risk named in the advisory here is wind, rain, flooding, and tornadoes rather than storm surge. If a tree comes through the roof or water gets in, a home can become unlivable far from the coast, and Additional Living Expenses coverage works the same way it does on the coast.

State of emergency. Governor Brian Kemp's Executive Order 10.08.26.01, signed October 8, 2026, declared a state of emergency in Georgia due to the potential impact of Hurricane Isaias. The order is statewide and names no counties, so it covers Decatur, Thomas, and Grady counties; the Governor's office said it applies to all 159 counties. The order says it is valid for seven days unless the Governor renews it. Source

Return to your property only when local officials say it is safe. Stay out of flood water and keep clear of downed lines. For roads, shelters, and re-entry, follow the Decatur County Emergency Management Agency, the Thomas County Emergency Management Agency ((229) 225-4190), or the Grady County Emergency Management Agency ((229) 377-0628). For the current forecast, go to the National Hurricane Center.

Local rules on living in an RV on your lot

Start with the county and whether your address is inside city limits. Bainbridge and Decatur County share one planning and building department at Bainbridge City Hall. Thomasville has its own Building Department, and unincorporated Thomas County goes to county Inspections and Planning. Cairo has its own Planning/Zoning office, and unincorporated Grady County goes to county Code Enforcement.

Thomasville: the trigger in the city code is a state of emergency declared by the governor and the city council, or a local emergency declared by the city council. The Governor's statewide order alone does not meet the city council part of that wording, and we did not find a Thomasville council declaration for Isaias as of October 9. The permit lasts up to six months unless the city extends it. Outside a declaration, the zoning code allows one RV to be stored on a residential lot only if it is locked or unoccupied.

Thomas County: the trigger in the county code is a declaration by the governor or the chair of the Board of Commissioners, so the Governor's statewide order meets that wording. The permit is still issued at the Board's or its designees' discretion, with engineered plans approved by the county health department and development services, for up to six months plus up to six more for continuing hardship. Ask Inspections and Planning whether permits are being issued for Isaias.

Decatur County has not adopted a zoning ordinance; it regulates land use through its 2022 Unified Development Ordinance. That ordinance counts any day an RV is occupied more than four hours in 24 as a day of living in it, treats more than 30 such days in a calendar year as permanent residential use, and says no lot may have an RV used as living quarters more than 30 days a year unless it is secured and permitted the same way as a manufactured home. We did not find a storm exception, so ask the Bainbridge-Decatur County Building and Planning office how that permit works for your lot. In Bainbridge, the zoning ordinance's list of temporary uses has no category for living in an RV while a home is repaired.

Cairo allows a travel trailer to be lived in only at sites in travel trailer parks, for up to 180 days, with a hardship variance only for medical disability or age. Grady County limits living in a travel trailer to 60-day stays at sites designed for it, and its rule does not expressly address a rural lot outside a subdivision, so ask Code Enforcement.

Septic: all three counties are in the Southwest Georgia Public Health District. Georgia's on-site sewage rules cover recreational vehicles and require a county health department permit before a septic system is installed. Thomas County's permit page says well and septic permits come from the Thomas County Health Department.

Rules here were read on official city and county pages on October 9, 2026 and can change after a storm. The side-by-side table for every Isaias area is on Hurricane Isaias RV rules by county.

How the trailer is billed: Additional Living Expenses

Additional Living Expenses, or ALE, sometimes called loss of use, pays for somewhere to live while the house is not livable. Ask your carrier whether your policy includes it and what the limit is. The Georgia Office of Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire explains in its disaster guide that the additional cost of renting a house or staying in a motel is payable under the policy but your normal mortgage payment is not, and to save documents and receipts for increased living expenses. Its Consumer Services Division is at (800) 656-2298.

• Local rules for your address checked before delivery.
• A furnished travel trailer that sleeps 2 to 10, with a kitchen, a bathroom, real beds, and heat and air, delivered, leveled, and set up on your property.
• Utilities connected by licensed, insured contractors from our preferred vendor network, planned around what is actually working at the property.
• Site conditions documented at setup and again at takedown.
• Direct billing to your carrier under ALE where the claim covers it, tracked against your ALE limit. On a covered claim that is $0 out of pocket for your family.
• One named contact from the first call to the day the unit leaves.

Flood is different. National Flood Insurance Program policies do not provide additional living expense coverage. If your home also had damage your homeowners policy covers, such as wind, ask your adjuster how ALE applies. This is general information, not legal or coverage advice. Your policy and your adjuster decide what is covered.

Already working with a temporary housing company?

We work with any temporary housing company. If one is handling your housing, ask them to place you with 1st Choice Living for a trailer on your own lot in Southwest Georgia. They send us the placement, we deliver, set up, and service the trailer, and the billing runs through them or straight to your carrier, whichever way their program works.

What we need to start

• The property address in Southwest Georgia and whether it is inside city limits.
• How many people are in the household.
• Your claim number and your adjuster’s name and contact.
• Your ALE limit, if your adjuster has told you.

From there we check the local rules for that address, confirm the lot can take a unit, and plan setup around what is safe and working at the property. If a trailer on your lot is not the right fit, we will tell you. Adjusters and housing companies can send a placement through for adjusters and carriers.

More Hurricane Isaias pages

• Temporary housing after Hurricane Isaias: storm facts, safety, and how ALE works for a trailer on your lot.
• Hurricane Isaias RV rules by county: every area in one table.
• Our Georgia temporary housing page.
• Nearby: Albany and Dougherty County, GA
• Nearby: Tallahassee (Leon County), FL
• Nearby: Marianna (Jackson County, FL), FL
• More Georgia pages: Columbus and Muscogee County, Atlanta area.
• Travel trailers for crews and families after Hurricane Isaias from Temporary RV Living.
• Drone documentation after Hurricane Isaias from LossMap, to record roof and property damage before cleanup.

Frequently asked questions