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Savannah, Valdosta prepares for Idalia's arrival
Idalia will impact the Georgia’s coast once it crosses Florida and residents and business owners spent the day doing what they could to prepare for the storm.
SAVANNAH, Ga. - For the first time this year, coastal Georgia is facing the threat of tropical trouble.
On Tybee Island, it is a race against time to prepare as the rapidly intensifying hurricane is on the move. Ahead of the storm, homeowners are grabbing sandbags just in case.
"Any time that you have potential for the winds and the rains and the storm surge, you're always worried about flooding," said Amy Edwards.
Idalia is expected to make landfall as a dangerous Category 3 hurricane in Florida Wednesday morning.
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Tybee Island prepares for Idalia
While Florida will feel the impacts of Hurricane Idalia in the next few hours. Georgia is also preparing for a hit. People are filling sandbags and stocking up on supplies.
The system will weaken as it moves into Georgia. Edwards lives in Rome but drove in to get her beach home ready for the storm.
"We bought the house two years ago, and so we want to make sure that there's no damage to the bottom floor," she said.
Chatham County Emergency Management has activated their emergency operations center ahead of the storm.
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Valdosta area concerned about Idalia's winds
FOX 5 Storm Team meteorologist Johnathan Stacey says the biggest fear in south Georgia as Idalia approaches is the high winds.
The agency says while Idalia will not be as strong as it will be when it makes landfall in Florida, coastal Georgia will still see heavy rain and dangerous winds. Flooding is also a concern because they expect high tide Wednesday night to be around 10 feet.
"Any time we have a tropical event, we're paying attention to the potential for storm surge and when you add a high tide and a king tide on top of that, you are definitely looking at some stronger potential for inundation and coastal flooding," said Chelsea Sawyer with Chatham County Emergency Management.
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In Savannah, people used Tuesday to finalize their preps. Islands Ace Hardware says it is selling out of some of the essentials, things like flashlights, sand and batteries.
"It's been busier than normal, but it'll start picking up later this afternoon," said Kurt Carpenter from Ace Hardware.
Schools are canceled here Wednesday, and a curfew will go into place as the storm hits.