Tracking Idalia: South Georgia reporting damage, coastal region largely spared

ATLANTA - Whipping winds lashed south Georgia and the coast Wednesday as Idalia moved through leaving some damage behind.

After slamming into Florida's Big Bend as an extremely dangerous Category 3 hurricane, the system quickly weakened as it moved into Georgia. 

Gov. Brian Kemp says state officials will begin restoring power as soon as it is safe. He says Idalia was narrow and fast moving, which could minimize damage across the state.

"There's been a heavy impact in south Georgia with heavy rainfalls and heavy winds," said Kemp. 

The governor concedes most Georgians will not see and feel direct impacts of Idalia, but south Georgia definitely has.

"In counties like Echols and Lowndes we certainly see a lot of downed trees. I mentioned the power outages and there has definitely been some flash flooding," Kemp said.

Idalia also made its presence known on Georgia's coast.  

On River Street in Savannah, businesses put out sandbags to prevent potential flooding. Much of downtown Savannah closed early Wednesday ahead of the storm.

"I had no idea the city would shut down like this," said Brooke Iniguez. "I mean, that was kind of shocking."

On nearby Tybee Island, the storm churned up the surf.  

"I thought it's going to be worse, it's not really," said Ernie Laessing. "Usually it's like a washing machine, very choppy."

Back in Savannah, a large downed tree has become a popular place for pictures. 

Before the tree’s roots completely gave way, Bill Summerlin was able to move his car out from under it. He says the 50-year-old oak tree was no match for mother nature. He’s thankful nobody was hurt.  

"We're just fortunate, fortunate it didn't fall on a house, didn't fall on our neighbor's house, and didn't fall on anybody's car," he said.

The city of Valdosta asked people to shelter in place and significant damage has been report. According to a Facebook post, many roads were made impassable because of flooding, downed lines and debris. 

The City of Moultrie, which is in Colquitt County,  says multiple trees were knocked down as the storm moved through its area, but they are currently removing trees and restoring power.

The City of Statesboro, which is 55 miles northwest of Savannah, asked its residents to limit road travel and stay at home if possible on Wednesday afternoon. 

Irwin County also issued a warning to its residents because of downed trees and power lines hanging over roadways. They said they are in the process of clearing the roads and asked for everyone to use caution. 

In Camden County, the Emergency Management Agency is warning residents that Idalia is not finished with Camden County yet. Camden's EMA says strong winds are still taking down trees and power lines, leading to widespread power outages. More than 10K customers are currently without power in Camden. 

 GEMA Director Chris Stalling says Georgia is prepared with Red Cross shelters, utility workers on standby and officials monitoring all the developments of the storm.

"State Patrol, DNR, Forrestry Commission, Ga Guard. We are ready. Air assessed, Drone search and rescue teams. We have tarps, waters, anything that would be needed," Stalling said.

In our area, Clayton County Schools announced cancellations for all afternoon and evening activities on Wednesday in anticipation of bad weather. However, the Campus Kids program was not canceled.

Although it has been going on all day, Idalia is pushing through Georgia quickly and is expected to leave the state between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Wednesday.

ORIGINAL STORY

The eye of Hurricane Idalia has crossed into southern Georgia after making landfall on the Florida Coast Wednesday morning. 

As of 11 a.m., Idalia is a Category 2 hurricane with winds of up to 90 miles per hour. Despite the reduction in strength, the storm is still bringing heavy rains and strong winds as it enters the Peach State just 15 miles southsoutheast of Valdosta.  

Most of southeast Georgia is under either a Hurricane Warning or Tropical Storm warning as the storm continues traveling northeast at around 20 miles per hour. 

In the hours before the storm's core made landfall, Idalia had already caused massive amounts of flooding and heavy winds. The storm will continue to bring catastrophic impacts to Florida throughout the day. Storm surges, flooding, tornadoes and fierce winds will sweep across the Sunshine State and bring additional impacts to south Georgia and the Georgia Coast as it continues its path across land. 

More than 263,000 customers were without electricity as rushing water covered streets near the coast. As the eye moved inland, destructive winds shredded signs, sent sheet metal flying and snapped tall trees. Downed power lines closed northbound Interstate 75 just south of Valdosta.

The storm is expected to begin losing strength as it crosses over land but will still possibly remain a Category 2 as it impacts the Georgia coast Wednesday afternoon. The greatest impact of the storm will move out of Georgia into South Carolina overnight.

The National Weather Service in Tallahassee called Idalia "an unprecedented event" since no major hurricanes on record have ever passed through the bay abutting the Big Bend. 

Hurricanes are measured on a five-category scale, with Category 5 being the strongest. A Category 3 storm is the first on the scale considered a major hurricane. 

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Metro Atlanta has already experienced widespread flooding and additional storms are expected through Thursday morning. 

At this time, flooding from heavy rainfall in the afternoon and early evening appears to be the main concern for central and northern Georgia, adding to an already rain-drenched week. Wind gusts could reach as high as 35 mph which could cause isolated wind damage in our area. 

Kemp declares state of emergency in Georgia 

Tuesday afternoon, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced he was declaring a state of emergency for the entire state ahead of Idalia's arrival, instructing state agencies to take proper precautions for its potential impact. 

The declaration is meant to free up funding, allow for certain highway limitations to be temporarily suspended, and to make other resource available as the state braces for the storm.

Georgia officials prepare for Idalia

As part of the preparations for the storm, Gov. Brian Kemp has directed the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency to activate the State Operations Center. There, partners from across the state will monitor the storm and get ready to react to any damage caused after it makes landfall.

"Thanks to our response partners on both the state and local levels, Georgia will be prepared for whatever Idalia will bring," Gov.  Brian Kemp said in a statement. "Rest assured, though the system will likely weaken before crossing our border, we’re not taking anything for granted. As the week progresses, I will work closely with GEMA/HS, the weather service, public safety organizations, and others to ensure we leave nothing to chance."

As of Monday evening, the state operations center is activated and crews are monitoring the storm’s progress.

"We look at what the needs could possibly be in a variety of scenarios. So there could be a need for shelters to be set up, there could be a need for feeding stations, blankets, tarps, all of those things," said Lisa Rodriguez-Presley, external affairs supervisor for Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security.

SPEEDWAYS IN ATLANTA, CHARLOTTE OPEN CAMPING FACILITIES FOR IDALIA EVACUEES

Despite Idalia setting its sights on Florida and Georgia, there is still a lot of uncertainty in its track and intensity.

"You know, it could go a little bit further to the East, maybe stay where it is. So at this point, you know, we can't necessarily anticipate exactly where it's going to go," said Rodriguez-Presley.

GEMA has begun to coordinate with its county partners to begin response on a local level.

"So them looking at what they may need and communicating that with us, that's all part of what we're doing right now," said Rodriguez-Presley.

Much of what is expected is localized flooding.

"There is going to be heavy rainfall and also some wind. We're expecting tropical storm force winds somewhere around the area," said Rodriguez-Presley.

FLORIDA PREPARES FOR ARRIVAL OF IDALIA

Rodriguez-Presley says the more prepared they are on the days when nothing is happening, the better prepared they are when an actual incident happens.

"One of the things that's really important when you're talking about disaster response is the ability to respond quickly, because in the initial hours following an event, you're looking at lifesaving measures needing to be taken and you're looking at the staging of material and supplies and all of those things," she said.

She says it’s about getting into the right frame of mind and monitoring for updates.

"I do want to stress there is no reason at this point to panic. There is no reason to panic at all," she said.

Still, it is important to be ready.

"Make sure that you have supplies in place, that you have that family communications plan, make sure that your electronic devices are fully charged and that you have some sort of backup source for those and make sure that your car is at least halfway full of gas. Having a half a tank of gas is an easy way for you to be able to make sure that you're going to be able to leave the area if you need to," said Rodriguez-Presley.

Officials are asking Georgians to keep a close eye on forecasts and start preparing for severe weather as soon as possible.

Savanna, Valdosta prepare for Idalia's arrival

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.

Idalia is expected to make landfall as a dangerous Category 3 hurricane in Florida Wednesday morning.

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.

Chatham County Emergency Management has activated their emergency operations center ahead of the storm. 

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. 

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.

Schools are canceled here Wednesday, and a curfew will go into place as the storm hits.

READ MORE: SOUTH GEORGIA BRACES FOR IDALIA'S ARRIVAL

Agencies gear up to respond in wake of Idalia

Emergency crews in Atlanta are gearing to help out after Idalia hits. Georgia Power and the Red Cross are sending teams to the southern and southeastern parts of the state to restore service once it goes out. 

Georgia Power says the utility posted up crews in Macon and is calling in mutual assistance from Mississippi and Alabama to fan out when needed. 

Idalia could hammer southern Georgia, possibly toppling trees, tearing down lines, likely knocking out power to customers. "We have our line crews that do the work to put the poles back up, new poles, replace broken poles and other equipment," Kraft said. 

The Red Cross is spreading out as well, in particular, the Valdosta and Savannah areas.

READ MORE: RED CROSS, GEORGIA POWER GEAR UP TO HELP IN WAKE OF IDALIA

The Associated Press contributed to this report.