Gov. Brian Kemp on Tuesday declared a state of emergency with Hurricane Idalia expected to bring life-threatening storm surges to Florida’s Gulf Coast Wednesday before heading into southwest Georgia.
High winds, heavy rain, flash flooding and widespread power outages are possible in Florida and in south and coastal Georgia, according to the National Hurricane Center. Tornadoes are also possible in Georgia, the National Weather Service said. The storm’s rain bands could reach metro Atlanta.
“We are taking every precaution ahead of Hurricane Idalia’s landfall (Wednesday), and I am taking this additional executive action to ensure state assets are ready to respond,” Kemp said.
Georgia farmers, who have millions of dollars worth of peanuts, pecans and cotton sitting in their fields, were making final preparations on Tuesday.
“Most people would probably like to see some rain this time of year to sort of finish out the crop; that part of it would be a blessing,” said Jonathan Mann, co-owner of GBJ Mann Farms in Surrency, about 90 miles southwest of Savannah. “But it’s the wind that would have me very concerned.”
Savannah Mayor Van Johnson announced a curfew from 6 p.m. Wednesday until 6 a.m. Thursday and some coastal Georgia schools announced a switch to online learning for part of the week. Georgia Southern University said its classes would shift online Wednesday and Thursday. Savannah State University is doing the same thing through Friday.
Credit: Stephen B. Morton for The Atlanta Journal Constitution
Credit: Stephen B. Morton for The Atlanta Journal Constitution
Tybee Island residents filled sandbags to put at the base of their doors, moved their cars to higher ground away from trees and stocked up on gasoline and other staples.
Officials there were expecting U.S. 80, the lone road to their island, to close as soon as Wednesday night. They noted Idalia’s projected arrival coincides with a lunar cycle that produces abnormally high tides, known as king tides. Water levels are expected to reach 9.4 feet, several inches above the average.
The Georgia Department of Transportation raised U.S. 80 by 8 inches during a 2018 resurfacing project. However, king tides routinely flood U.S. 80, even on sunny days.
A rain event such as Idalia, combined with the lunar cycle — a full moon — and 86-degree ocean water, has Tybee leaders anticipating flooding. Tybee Fire Chief Jeremy Kendrick called Idalia a “shelter in place-type event.”
The National Park Service boarded up the guard shack at the entrance to Fort Pulaski National Monument, a Civil War-era fortification near Tybee. The fort closed Monday ahead of the storm.
The storm has already disrupted some Florida flights; Tampa International Airport closed early Tuesday. There were more than 370 Tampa flight cancellations the same day, including more than 20 flights to and from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, according to FlightAware.com.
President Joe Biden on Monday declared a state of emergency for Florida, making more federal assistance available, while Gov. Ron DeSantis said Florida’s National Guard was mobilizing 1,100 personnel.
“These things can wobble,” DeSantis said, “so Floridians along our Gulf Coast should be vigilant.”
Georgia’s National Guard also stands ready to pitch in, said Maj. Gen. Thomas Carden Jr., the state’s adjutant general, adding, “Our mantra is ‘Always ready and always there.’ That means never late to a need/requirement.”
Federal and state authorities encourage Georgians to follow weather forecasts, move lawn furniture indoors, fuel up automobiles and gather groceries and prescriptions in case of power outages.
“It’s possible that this system, even though it will be weakening after it makes landfall in Florida, will carry hurricane-force winds into Georgia,” Jamie Rhome, the National Hurricane Center’s deputy director, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Tuesday. “It’s going to carry those winds inland, especially in the form of gusts. And I can assure you those winds are going to catch a lot of people in Georgia off guard.”
AJC staff writers Drew Kann and Kelly Yamanouchi contributed to this report.
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
