SAVANNAH — The rains from Tropical Storm Debby have started in coastal Georgia. When the showers will end is the question on every resident’s mind.
The storm made landfall Monday morning on Florida’s Gulf Coast and is forecast to move northeast across South Georgia over the next 36 hours before stalling out off the coast of Hilton Head Island, S.C.. The latest model from the National Hurricane Center calls for Georgia’s low-lying coastal regions to receive between 12 inches and 20 inches of rainfall over the next five days.
The heaviest rains aren’t expected to arrive in Savannah before Tuesday. Debby was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm on Monday as it began to travel across land.
Coastal South Carolina between Beaufort and Charleston is expected to absorb more than 20 inches of rain. Beaufort is 40 miles north of Savannah.
Savannah-based hazards researcher Chuck Watson, whose storm blog enkiops.org/blog/ is the go-to resource each hurricane season and has earned him the moniker “the storm whisperer,” said Debby’s threat to coastal residents is different from other storms. Because Debby is projected to weaken significantly as it moves across land, and because Savannah and the rest of the coast are forecast to be on the weaker side of the storm, the risk of wind-driven surge is minimal.
Debby’s impact is more a matter of drainage. In an area where waterways rise and fall as much as eight feet in a tide cycle, keeping the water flowing is key.
“Tides should only run a foot or so above normal,” Watson said. “Once the rain gets to the tidal creeks or ocean it shouldn’t be a problem. It’s the getting there that is the bottleneck.”
Officials are preparing for a worst-case scenario. Dennis Jones, director of the Chatham Emergency Management Agency, warned of “unprecedented” levels of rain in a Sunday news conference, and Savannah Mayor Van Johnson noted that more than 2.5 inches of rain in an hour can overwhelm the area’s storm sewers.
A strong thunderstorm on July 22 dumped about six inches on Savannah in a two-hour period, flooding land near waterways as well as streets and intersections. The rainfall was part of a 10-day period when Savannah saw 16 inches of precipitation.
“It could be severe and it could be catastrophic,” Johnson said.
Along Georgia’s coast, to the south of Savannah, pounding rain and strong winds kept tourists and fisherman away from the St. Simons Pier and nearby shops and restaurants on Monday. Beaches were also deserted as residents and visitors still on the island prepared to hunker down.
Griffin Bufkin, co-owner of Southern Soul BBQ and sister eatery Frosty’s on St. Simons Island, shut both restaurants Monday due to Debby. He said that the well-being of his employees was a big factor in his decision.
“At least 80% of our labor force comes from Brunswick,” he said. Driving to the island would mean asking them to risk potential flooding and high winds, especially on the causeway, “which could get dangerous,” he said.
The F.J. Torras Causeway, which connects the City of Brunswick to St. Simons Island, remained open Monday afternoon. But local authorities said thew would close it if there are water hazards and flooding.
--Ligaya Figueras contributed to this report from St. Simons Island.
Here’s what you need to know about how Tropical Storm Debby could impact coastal Georgia:
Evacuation orders are highly unlikely
Storm threats often lead state or local authorities to call on residents, particularly those closest to the coast or major waterways, to evacuate. Coastal Georgia’s primary hurricane evacuation route, I-16, is outfitted to convert eastbound lanes to westbound in the case of an evacuation, carrying four lanes of traffic away from the coast over a 100-mile stretch between Savannah and Dublin.
An evacuation order is a precautionary measure driven by concerns over the potential for high winds to drive storm surge and blow over trees. But wind is currently not considered a major risk with Debby.
Forecasts show Debby’s winds should fall to minimal tropical storm force by the time its edges reach coastal Georgia, and if the current track holds and Debby goes north before reaching the ocean, the most damaging winds will affect Savannah’s neighbors in coastal South Carolina.
Rather than order residents to evacuate, local officials are encouraging coastal Georgians to stay home and wait out the rain. Some roads, such as U.S. 80 connecting Savannah to Tybee Island and the F.J. Torras causeway linking Brunswick to St. Simons Island, are likely to close temporarily around high tide but island residents are not expected to be cut off from the mainland for extended periods of time.
A test for drainage
Coastal Georgia’s lowest-lying communities have invested heavily in storm resiliency in recent years. Savannah and neighboring Tybee Island have been among the most active in addressing issues since those cities experienced flooding in 2016 and 2017 due to Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Irma, respectively.
Savannah has a series of pump stations positioned along canals that bisect the city and is in the midst of a $100-million stormwater drain overhaul. However, much of the improvements are just underway or still in the planning stages.
On Tybee Island, the beachfront community just east of Savannah, the city has engaged in a years-long dune renourishment program to curb flooding due to storm surge. But the flood threat from Debby is expected to come from the inland side as the rivers and creeks drain to the ocean and could pose risk to homes and businesses on the westward-facing side of the island.
A hundred miles south at Georgia’s southern tip, St. Marys’ public works director expresses concerns about the city’s wastewater lift stations. In 2017, Hurricane Irma brought 10 inches of rain and knocked the sewage pumping stations offline.
Two years later, Hurricane Dorian brought flood waters to the historic city’s streets, swamping several businesses. Since that time, the city has installed pervious pavers along the streets and stone-lined water collection pools in medians.
Scramble for sandbags
Local governments across coastal Georgia trucked in sand to help residents seeking to shore up their homes with sandbags. A mountain of sand stood just outside Grayson Stadium, home of the Savannah Bananas baseball team, and a line of motorists waited their turn to fill bags they hope will keep flood waters out of their living quarters.
Teenager Nyshawn Roberts and his father loaded several into the back of their SUV. Their home is 10 blocks north of the stadium and is built on a slab, with no basement or crawlspace. Rain pools in the yard and can swamp the front and side porches, as they learned during a particularly rainy period in July.
“We’ve only been there a year, so we didn’t know,” Roberts said. “These sandbags will hopefully stop it from happening again.”
Harris campaign visit postponed
Up until Monday afternoon, Debby wasn’t the only attention-grabbing force headed for coastal Georgia this week. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, was scheduled to hold a campaign rally Friday in Savannah.
The Harris campaign postponed that appearance due to the slow movement of Tropical Storm Debby. Savannah public safety officials are a core part of the area’s storm response team, which would have complicated preparations for the visit.
Johnson, Savannah’s mayor, said he heard directly from the vice president’s office and the campaign early Monday afternoon. He said they recognized the “extraordinary circumstances” facing Savannah this week and voiced confidence that Harris would reschedule her rally for later in the campaign cycle.
