Helene lashes Savannah and Georgia coast, cutting power and downing trees
SAVANNAH — Hurricane Helene brought wind gusts of up to 76 mph to the Savannah area overnight, downing trees, ripping traffic lights from above intersections, tearing awnings from storefronts and causing a roof collapse on a historic building in the heart of downtown.
No injuries were reported, although more than 117,000 Georgia Power customers were without electricity. The utility company reported another 48,000 outages in neighboring Bryan and Effingham counties.
Complicating Georgia Power’s efforts to restore power were the number of trees downed by the winds. Savannah officials reported 66 felled trees within the city limits alone.
Tornadoes were forecast as the greatest threat to Savannahians ahead of the storm’s arrival because of the coastal city’s location on the northeastern edge of the system. Tornado sirens began sounding on the suburban islands east of Savannah at 8:45 p.m. Thursday as a twister was detected off the coast of Wassaw Island, an uninhabited barrier island home to a national wildlife refuge.
Tornado sirens continued throughout the night. At one point, seven sirens were sounding simultaneously across Chatham County.
Street closures dotted the area, including on the U.S. 80 causeway that links Savannah to the popular beach destination of Tybee Island. Storm surge related to Helene’s passing caused that closure, with the Fort Pulaski tide gauge measuring 9.84 feet at high tide’s peak, more than 3 feet higher than predictions, but not enough to swamp the low-lying road.
Within the Savannah city limits, 42 roads were impassable.
That included a short stretch of Broughton Street in Savannah’s historic district, where the roof of a building collapsed shortly after 2 a.m. Friday. The three-story structure was built in 1890, and the falling roof caused several windows to blow out on lower floors. Savannah police closed off the block in front of the building out of concern about the building’s structural integrity.
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About the Author
Adam Van Brimmer is a journalist who covers politics and Coastal Georgia news for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
