Categories
People Weather

A return to normalcy

We’ve been through two major weather events in the last few months in Savannah: Debby and now Helene.

Our home didn’t flood during Debbie, and didn’t lose power in either system since our subdivision has buried lines. We did have several hours of power cycling and had to turn major appliances off at the breaker but power never went completely out for more than 1/2 hour.

We also lost roof shingles and the emergency repair on them was a bite out of the wallet, but we could pay it. We have lost internet access, first because of the power loss, and after power was restored, because AT&T Fiber had a break in the line and is still waiting on a permit to dig to repair it.

We’re retired so we haven’t suffered loss of wages. And by having power, we haven’t had to throw anything away in our refrigerator.

We, individually, and generally throughout the Savannah area have not suffered the devastation that communities in Florida, south-central Georgia, and especially Tennessee and North Carolina have suffered. In particular, the floods from Helene have taken out entire towns in North Carolina, and isolated communities throughout the western part of the state. Sadly, over a hundred lives have been lost in several states, both because of Debby and now Helene.

Each community impacted by these storms has suffered as a consequence of them, though the amount of impact can be drastically different in each. But, big or small, impacts because of natural disasters leave everyone feeling vulnerable. And the solution to that vulnerability is normalcy.

Categories
Government Weather

Georgia Emergency Management sends Debby disaster request to President

Some good news for Georgians impacted by Debby.

The Georgia Emergency Management Agency has sent a package containing statewide damage assessments to the President, asking him to make a disaster declaration for Georgia. The value given was $20.7 million, barely passing the required minimum of $20 million for the state. But it does pass, and a disaster declaration should be forthcoming once FEMA has done due diligence.

As I noted in an earlier piece, if the folks of Project 2025 had their way, we would not have met the minimum and Georgia would not be getting any FEMA disaster declaration funds. Thankfully, it’s 2024.

TS Debby disaster declaration request sent to President Biden, says CEMA director

Debby does Project 2025

Categories
Government Savannah Weather

Project 2025 and Tropical Cyclone Debby

(source links following)

Just when I started going through the Department of Homeland Security section of Project 2025, tropical cyclone Debby hit Georgia. And it hit Georgia hard.

Areas along the coast and even inland that have never flooded before, flooded. Storm water systems failed to handle the amount of rain that fell, storm water lagoons overflowed, and sewer lift stations were overrun resulting in raw sewage spills in several areas. Roadways were flooded, or complete destroyed when earthen dams failed. Entire neighborhoods in Chatham, Bryan, Liberty, Effingham, Bulloch, and other counties watched the water creep up; sometimes it stopped, sometimes it didn’t.

Currently, FEMA is working with GEMA (Georgia Emergency Management Agency), assessing the damage and determining whether a Major Disaster declaration is warranted for the state and impacted counties. Some folk thinks this means calling our Congressional reps or the governor or other persons of power and telling them to declare a disaster so we can get on with our lives.

It doesn’t work that way.

Categories
Savannah Weather

Debby does the neighborhood

This morning, at the crack of dawn, I braved the heat and humidity to walk down to see the flooding on Chief of Love Road.

A police car blocked one lane into the road, but folks could get around it to reach the non-flooded homes. However, cars were parked over the sidewalks in order to protect them from the water. They could be from the cut off Teal Lake area.

The entrance to Teal Lake, isolated because of the flood.
I suspect the subdivision being cut off flooding is going to put a crimp into home sales

Or from the Fords Pointe townhouses, still accessible, but with flooded streets.

Flooded town home complex streets.
Fords Pointe with flooded streets
Town houses from the back, with flood waters very close
Back of the town houses, with very close flood waters

Our subdivision isn’t at risk because we’re at an elevation above the area. According to FEMA, we have zero chance of flooding. But after seeing how much of the area is flooded based on 8 inches of rain, and knowing that thanks to climate change, future hurricanes will drop more rain, I’m no longer so confident about our safety.

Thankfully, the Ogeechee river is starting to go down. Slowly. But homes have been flooded, so normalcy is a ways into the future.

And peak hurricane season for us isn’t until September.

Categories
Climate Change Savannah Weather

Flood city

The Ogeechee river still hasn’t fully crested yet in the Savannah area. All the roads around my home are now closed, either completely or to thru traffic. We’re not at risk of flooding, but others aren’t as lucky.

River records were broken in Ellabell and Richmond Hill. And this with us getting only about 10 inches of rain from tropical storm Debby, instead of the 20 or more originally predicted.

Climate change isn’t creating more hurricanes, but the ones we get last longer and drop more rain. Debby is only the beginning, I hate to think what will happen when that 20 inches of rain comes.

Add to this, the leaders in our area and their very poor planning. They sacrifice all in the name of growth. They’re allowing development on wetlands and into marshes. The wetlands are nature’s sponges; they help control how much water floods the streets and how quickly it flows into the river.

The new developments have these little stormwater lagoons that are supposed to take the place of the wetlands. Well, as we found out this week: they failed.

The hurried and excessive development is putting stress on infrastructure, including road access and stormwater management. And all they’re doing now, is starting a study to see how to fix it. A study.

By allowing this uncontrolled growth, more homes will be put at risk, and we’ll be dealing with increased river and stormwater flooding at the same time climate change is raining sea levels and increasing rainfall during tropical cyclones.

Flood insurance. We’re supposed to be completely out of any risk zone, but I’m not sure I can bank on this assumption now.