Power restored to 254,000 customers, utility says

Georgia Power said Monday afternoon it expects to restore power to more than 90 percent of customers affected by Hurricane Matthew by Wednesday night.

Crews had already restored power to about 254,000 customers by 9:30 p.m., according to the utility company.

The Georgia Electric Membership Corporation, a statewide trade association, reported 27,000 outages in southeastern and coastal Georgia on Monday.

Power loss was hardly the most devastating blow from Matthew.

The storm, a Category 2 hurricane when it swept up the Georgia coast early Saturday, killed at least three people in the state. Officials were unsure if a fourth reported death was caused by the storm. Eight people in North Carolina and six in Florida died, according to The New York Times.

Tybee Mayor Jason Buelterman said Matthew was the worst hurricane in more than 100 years. A tidal gauge at Fort Pulaski, just outside of town, hit a record 12.56 feet, which exceeded the previous high of 12.2 feet set during Hurricane David in 1979. Flooding typically starts at 9.8 feet.

Buelterman praised the majority of Tybee residents who evacuated before Matthew arrived.

Gov. Nathan Deal lifted mandatory evacuation orders for coastal Georgia on Sunday, allowing residents to return home. However, outages and other repair efforts prevented some residents from doing that.

Only repair crews and homeowners with special permission were allowed back in Glynn County on Monday after the loss of power on St. Simons Island led to a sewage system defect that may have allowed contaminants into the island’s water system.

More than 80 percent of the sewer system infrastructure was non-operational about 7 p.m. Sunday, county spokeswoman Kathyrn Downs said in a release.

Residents will be allowed back by noon Tuesday, according to an update posted on the Glynn County Board of Commissioner's Facebook page. County offices are also expected to reopen Tuesday. Schools will reopen Oct. 17.

“We understand the frustration why people want to get back to their homes,” Glynn police Chief Matt Doering said. “With that said, we want them also to understand we have extra officers that are dedicated to the neighborhood to ensure their homes are protected.”

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