amarone, I didn’t realize you were so close! I’m in Statesboro, without power, but without major damage, so hooray!
And ivylass? Could I ask you a huge favor? I can’t post to social media, and my phone service isn’t working very well. Is there any possibility that you could post a Facebook update and tag me, just saying that we’re all OK? I can’t call my mother in law, and I know she’s worried!
(Crossing fingers, hoping this will go through!)
We still do not know anything about our house but work crews are now on the island clearing blocked roads. I am cautiously optimistic based on lack of reports of significant flooding.
The island was still clearing up from Hermine (3,000 dump trucks of debris) and this one is likely worse.
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Gladly, but it looks like you beat me to it. So happy you’re okay!
I dunno … here? I mean, I don’t post with quite the frequency that I did during the first few years I was on the board, but I still maintain a presence. Having run a couple of searches, I see that our posting habits don’t really overlap – I’m ridiculously weighted toward Cafe Society, and you don’t seem to go there particularly often – but I still figured you’d run across my name every now and again.
I know, huh? That’s what I’m always asking him.
I stayed. Pretty hairy - but I was in a friends hurricane safe building. Island is a real mess. Power and water still out or spotty. Trees down everywhere. Some neighborhoods will be inaccessible for days at least. Island got hammered- if it would have been Cat4 or more Hilton Head would be gone.
Update - Skidaway Island (Savannah).
The evacuation order was lifted at 5pm yesterday and some homeowners have returned. We have not gone back yet - the HOA has requested people continue to stay away to help cleanup activities and utilities work. There is no power. There have been 25 gas leaks reported so far.
Friends reported that our house is okay. One tree down and masses of branches and debris, but no harm to the house. We did not flood - we probably had a couple of feet of water height to spare. That means we only had about 3 feet of surge, whereas forecasts were more than twice that, although we have a barrier island (Wassaw) between us and the ocean which may offer some protection.
At least 3 friends have had trees fall on their house. The whole island looks devastated. The country club reports over 1,000 trees down on the golf courses.
If will head there tomorrow and start the cleanup.
Hubby and I were going a little stir-crazy last night, and most of town has power now, so it was safe to ride around a little bit after I put two filthy little girls to bed and left the teenager in charge…
The power crews that are trying to restore service here and points east are still using our town as a staging ground. Between the fairgrounds, the stadium parking lot, and the lots at one of the middle schools and the little satellite college campus south of town, there are probably 500 bucket trucks in town, plus twice as many other types of electric company vehicles. Last night, deputies from Treutlen county (an hour northeast of Statesboro,) were on duty guarding those lots. School buses are being used to take workers back to their campers after they park the heavy equipment.
Gas stations are getting deliveries 2-3 times per day. Usually, the tankers are “branded” - either the name of the gas company, or the wholesaler, or the convenience store chain. Last night, half of the trucks and tankers we saw were rentals, because the demand is too high for the usual drivers to keep up.
The hardware stores - large and small - have signs on the doors: “No generators, lanterns, chain saws, etc. Delivery expected Monday.” (I have friends with a small store that sell chain saws and such. They opened yesterday - their first Sunday in 22 years. They still had some saws at 6 o’clock last night, but will probably sell out by noon today.)
The grocery stores are also getting deliveries at twice the usual pace, trying to keep up with demand - folks returning to the coast are stopping here to buy supplies, because it’s the eastern-most town with reliable services on the way to Savannah. The food bank operation is moving over to the Methodist church this morning, because the kitchen facility is larger. Not only are we trying to feed locals without power and water and such, we’re making boxed lunches for travelers lined up on the highway, waiting to re-enter Effingham, Bryan, and Chatham Counties.
Our electric co-op put out a press release last night. At the height of the storm, over 95% of their customers were without service. By 7 pm, that number was down to about 40%. Crews from several other EMCs are joining their effort today. I’m hoping maybe maybe our house will have service back sometime today. Fingers crossed!
So glad Dopers are pulling through well.
Down in the Caribbean we are ramping up relief efforts for Haiti. The US Southern Command (military) moved their staging ground forward from Cayman to Jamaica. The regional governmental disaster insurance plan has already made the largest payment in its short lived history to Haiti.
I work in emergency services and what information we are hearing is truly heartbreaking. The situation on the ground is a bit confused and the full extent of the devastation may never been known. It might not make front page news elsewhere, but keep them in mind if you hear an appeal from a charity you support.
It was nothing to us in Gainesville but a rainy day. However, my mom in Palatka had a couple of rooms flood and lost the boat dock. She just got power back yesterday.
About 15 years ago I visited Hilton Head, and at the time was amazed how many large trees there were, which I assumed was evidence that the area didn’t get many major hurricanes. I lived for a while in Wilmington, NC on the coast, where there are very few large trees standing due to regular hurricanes, so the difference was striking. I also had seen what Hurricane Fran, after being reduced to tropical storm strength, had done to the trees in the Raleigh, NC area, so it was pretty clear the amount of damage a direct hit would do. But I also saw how comprehensive the cleanup efforts are, so within a year there should be little remaining (physical) evidence of the storm.