Residents got their first look at the damage on St. Simons Island on Tuesday after the island was reopened at noon for residents and business employees with proof of entry.
The area is known for its beaches and beautiful trees, many which are now gone. But the first look of the island showed that most of the damage can be fixed, and no injuries were reported.
One home on Ocean Road had two pine trees fall on it and a third toppled in the front yard.
Most people on the quiet island said things could have been so much worse, and they’re thankful they’ll be able to quickly get back to normal.
“I don't even know what time it is now. I don't even know what day it is, but it's OK,” said Melissa Wellford, owner of Sandcastle Cafe. “We have our business. We have our house. We have our condo. I'm so grateful, totally grateful.”
Wellford, 28, said she was emotional driving over the FJ Torras Causeway on Tuesday morning, where cars had lined up to return to St. Simons Island. It was the first time in five days she was able to see her business and home, which escaped without damage.
“I just looked up at the sky and said, 'Thank you. Thank you,'” Wellford said. “We are truly blessed. I cannot tell you enough. I've lived here my whole life.”
Wellford's cafe is just blocks from the water. She said the last five days have been long, tough and frustrating.
“I think it's been a great learning experience for everyone,” Wellford said. “We now know what we need to do to prepare for the next one, f there is a next one. I hope not anytime soon.”
Wellford said she got word Thursday that she had to evacuate and her restaurant was full of freshly cooked biscuits, gravy, bacon and eggs that she just couldn't throw away. So she delivered it the fire station. She said the first responders were the true heroes during the storm.
Recovery efforts continue
Throughout the island, crews continued to pick up the pieces Tuesday as home and business owners returned.
St. Simons Island opened at 10 a.m. Monday for business-critical and emergency workers with ID whose names are on emergency management's disaster re-entry business-registry list.
Glynn County reopened Jekyll Island to residents and business owner at 8 a.m. Monday.
Jekyll Island reopened to visitors early Tuesday evening. St. Simons Island will reopen to the public at 8 a.m. Wednesday.
Glynn County officials held a news conference Monday evening to explain the recovery is still in progress. Glynn County Commission Chairman Richard Strickland said it's been a tiring process for everyone -- working around the clock to speed the recovery process along.
Strickland said the one thing he asks of the anxious residents is patience.
"Today, the public demands a lot from their government and when the government doesn’t meet their expectations, they lose a lot of patience and become very frustrated in one thing or another," Strickland said. "But they just don't understand. In the best, for the most part, just how quickly we've been able to do what we've done."
Only those who have proof of residency, or are employed by a business located on St. Simons Island and have proof of same, will be allowed access to re-enter the island on Tuesday. An ID card, such as a driver’s license, other government ID, or business ID, that shows your home address or business address on St. Simons is sufficient. An ID with a non-resident of Glynn County with your name matching a business card with a business address on St. Simons is sufficient for access.
Trees are down everywhere, debris litters the area, including a storage bin lifted off the ground from a rooted tree.
But most of the damage was fortunately minor.
Meg Barton and her husband returned to find a massive tree down in their front yard that she said seemed little in comparison to what it could have been.
“I think we got lucky. I kept thinking, 'If this is the kind of damage that the storm would do miles out, when it was that far out, thank God it didn't come right over us, because there's a lot here that could have been damaged beyond repair,'” Barton said.
Tab Miller said his wife and children decided to evacuate St. Simons Island at the last minute.
“When they were talking about the storm surge, we thought this place was going to be gone,” Miller said of his home. “Luckily, it's up on stilts, and we ended up being OK.”
They returned to find no damage to their home, but it might be time for a new car.
“We've been married now nine years. We've had it almost the entire time, so it's been a great car for us, and if this is the worst of it all, I'm very blessed,” Miller said.
Kelli Bufkin returned Tuesday to find scattered limbs, a downed power line and no power at her home, but she said she is fortunate.
“It was nerve-racking. Tension was high, but my whole family was together, which was a blessing, and everyone was safe, and no one was hurt, which was good,” Bufkin said. “Wwe were very anxious to get back the last couple of days.”
Many residents said they are thankful to return home to a community that they say is tight knit and will help each other out in times of need.
“Community is very important,” Miller said. “It's what keeps us going, and hopefully after I get my car cleaned out, I'm going to go find someplace to help.”
Residents, homeowners and business owners on Jekyll Island were able to return to the island first. Visitors and the public were asked to give the crews time to complete storm cleanup and power restoration before returning.
Georgia Department of Transportation confirmed that the Jekyll Island Causeway bridges are safe for travel.
Red Cross opens shelter
The Red Cross has opened a shelter at Selden Park for those who have been displaced or need assistance in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew.
The shelter located at 100 Genoa Martin Dr. (off US 341), Brunswick, is providing shelter, food, and showers for those needing assistance.
This shelter will be open 24-hours-a-day, as long as there is a need.
If you or someone you know is seeking assistance, please report directly to Selden Park.
Some power still out
There are still power lines down on the islands, and residents were asked to use the utmost caution and allow power crews to work without interruption. Any questions about individual properties should be directed to Georgia Power at 888-660-5890.
Power has been restored to a portion of the islands, but there are areas that remain without power. [Check current outage map]
Georgia State Patrol, military police and the Glynn County Sheriff’s Department teams are currently in place on Jekyll and St. Simons and will continue to have an increased presence on the Island to ensure law and order until recovery is complete.
Glynn County deputies said burglaries have increased since the hurricane county-wide. While there's normally an average of 40 burglaries reported a month, there have been 35 in Glynn County in the last three days, according to police.
"There's only two that I know of that's occurred on the island. Of course, we won't know the extent of that because that's part of our recovery. Once we get in the community, people come home and let us know," Strickland said.
The curfew is no longer in place on Jekyll Island and St. Simons Island.
The teams from Glynn County, the DNR Chainsaw Strike Force, and Georgia Department of Corrections have cleared 90 percent of the roads on the Island. All homes and businesses are accessible, but they may experience detours.
Power has been restored to the Jekyll Island Water and Sewer plant, and the plant is fully functional, but only three of 20 lift stations are operational via permanent power. Personnel will be manually operating those 17 lift stations on continuous generator power until permanent power is fully restored.
The boil-water advisory for St. Simons Island was lifted at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. There is no boil advisory for Jekyll Island residents.
However, residents should dump any ice that was made from Oct. 7 until Tuesday morning at 9:30 when the all-clear was granted. In addition, keep in mind that power has been out for extended hours and food may have spoiled in refrigerators.
"The challenge has been getting St. Simons because we had some real issues with raw sewage, the water problem as far as boil water, and of course the lack of power and a lot of trees down over there," Strickland said.
All Glynn County offices will reopen on Tuesday. Jekyll Island Authority administrative offices, shops and amenities will remain closed through Tuesday.
Glynn County Schools will reopen on Monday, Oct. 17.
Health departments in Camden and Glynn counties will not be open for service on Tuesday to address logistical and technological issues that have come about as a result of Hurricane Matthew.
All health departments are expected to reopen on Wednesday.
Trash pickup
Trash pick up scheduled is below, for questions on the schedule, call 912-554-7111.
- Thursday's regularly scheduled pick up from last week, will occur tomorrow Tuesday,
- October 11.
- Friday's pick up from last week will occur on Wednesday, October 12
- Monday's pick up from this week will occur on Thursday, October 13
- Tuesday's pick up from this week will be Friday, October 14
- Wednesday's pick up Saturday, October 15
- Thursday's pick up Monday, October 17
- Friday's pick up Tuesday, October 18
This pattern will continue until trash service is caught up.
Deadly storm
Three deaths were reported in Georgia related to harsh weather brought on by the storm.
A coroner identified a man found dead inside his southeast Georgia home in the wake of Hurricane Matthew.
Chatham County coroner Dr. Williams Wessinger said Sunday that the body of 41-year-old Jefferson A. Davis was discovered Saturday morning. Wessinger said Davis was in his bed when a large pine tree crashed through the roof and onto him when the storm hit overnight Friday.
Wessinger said Davis' family had evacuated, and he stayed behind.
Two other deaths in Georgia occurred in Bulloch County.
Working to reopen ports
The Coast Guard reopened the Port of Brunswick about 4 p.m. Tuesday.
The port is now open under normal operations.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are conducting underwater surveys to ensure the channels are free from obstructions and the depth is sufficient for deep draft vessel traffic.
Camden County damage survey
The historic Downtown area of St. Marys was underwater during the storm as the storm surge pushed water from the St. Marys River about two and a half blocks into Downtown, flooding many businesses and homes.
Chief Tim Hatch with the St. Marys Police Department said the worst damage, though, came from the high winds, which knocked down trees across the city, leading to widespread power outages.
"The problem that we face here is the utility pole at the far corner of this intersection snapped and all of the wires came down and, obviously, it has a couple of trees, you can see, up and down the line here, one there and one back behind my vehicle," Hatch described. "These trees also fell across the lines."
Kenneth Hase owns a home in St. Marys' Lands End neighborhood, right on the water. He said his home and the others around it were mostly spared from what could have been devastation.
"A little damage, but not a whole lot. Little dings on the roof and some broken things on the dock but nothing major. Very good, very lucky," Hase said. "I was expecting some trees to be down, and some major roof damage, and probably not to have a roof left at all."
The National Guard is playing a major role in the recovery in Camden County.
Hatch said the Guard's help, along with that of organizations from across the state, has been invaluable.
The 30 officers of the St. Marys Police Department have been overwhelmed by the help they’ve received.
"The officers, I couldn’t be prouder of them," Hatch said. "They’ve all responded well and answered the call, for sure."
Camden County tax assessors and members of the U.S. National Guard will be traveling Camden County unincorporated areas to assess property damages due to Hurricane Matthew.
The members of the Camden County tax assessors and the National Guard will have proper identification. Please do not be alarmed, county officials urged.
The county thanked residents for their patience and understanding during this process.
Anyone with questions can call 912-729-5602.
As of Thursday, power had been restored throughout most of the county, officials said. They were working to get Cumberland Island power restored as soon as possible.
If you have flood insurance through FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and your property suffered flood damage, contact your local insurance agency or company to file a flood insurance claim.
Find your insurance company's toll-free number here.
Anyone with additional questions about filing a claim or their NFIP policy can call the FEMA helpline at 800-621-3362 and press option “2.”
Camden County’s Planning and Development office can also be of assistance during this time, especially if any repairs or alterations are needed to your structure, as a permit might be required. The office can also verify if your property is in a flood zone and if you need other considerations. All work is required to be completed by a licensed contractor. Active licenses can be verified on the Secretary of State website at http://verify.sos.ga.gov/Verification, or you can call the County Planning Office for verifications.
The cities of Kingsland, St. Marys and Woodbine have water and sewer services restored. Debris cleanup is underway and all public works departments are removing debris from streets and right of ways. Residents in the unincorporated area of Camden County are encouraged to bring their yard debris to either the C&D or Old Still Road Landfill at NO CHARGE. They are open 7am-5pm. If a resident is unable to do this, they may put yard debris that was a result of Hurricane Matthew in the right of way no later than Sunday, October 16th for pick up by the road department. The road department will first be picking up debris from the main roads, and after that is cleared, will begin working in the residential areas. If your trash is not picked up on the regular scheduled day, please leave it out & it will be picked up by Friday.
Disaster declaration
President Barack Obama has declared Georgia a disaster area after Matthew battered the southeast area of the state.
The White House announced Sunday that Obama signed the declaration late Saturday. It'll free up federal aid to help recovery efforts in counties including Bryan, Camden, Chatham, Glynn, Liberty and McIntosh.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency says damage survey is still continuing.
Obama signed an emergency declaration Thursday for Georgia after Gov. Nathan Deal requested the federal designation. The declaration allowed federal agencies to coordinate disaster relief efforts and use federal aid to assist people dealing with the storm.
It's designated to 30 counties in coastal Georgia.