The Liberty County School System is canceling all activities for Wednesday in advance of Hurricane Idalia.
Schools will be closed for staff and students, and all after-school meetings and sports are canceled. School system officials said that based on National Weather Service reports, wind gusts are expected to exceed what they believe will be safe to transport students.
Long County schools will be closed Wednesday and all extracurricular and afterschool activities are canceled for Wednesday.
All Liberty County offices will be closed Wednesday and could remain closed Thursday. A determination on whether to open county offices Thursday will be made later.
Georgia Southern University will have reduced operations with essential personnel only on Wednesday at all campuses. All classes will be moved to online and will remain online Thursday. Campuses will reopen at noon Thursday, pending an “all clear” signal.
All Savannah Technical College campuses will close Wednesday, August 30. Online classes for Wednesday will take place as scheduled, and in-person classes will proceed as virtual classes, where possible. The college will reopen Thursday, August 31 for normal operations barring any unforeseen power or travel issues.
A tropical storm warning has been issued for Liberty and Long counties, and there is a flash flood watch. Gov. Brian Kemp has issued a state of emergency for the entire state.
Idalia gained hurricane strength early Tuesday morning. As the storm tracks across the eastern Gulf of Mexico it is expected to gradually strengthen, becoming a major hurricane tonight. On the current forecast track, Idalia would make landfall between Tampa and the Big Bend region of Florida on Wednesday morning as a major hurricane. Thereafter, Idalia is forecast to track along or near the Georgia and South Carolina coast as a tropical storm late Wednesday morning through Thursday morning.
Due to the potential for severe weather associated with Hurricane Idalia, all clinics and offices of the Coastal Health District will close at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 29 and remain closed until 10 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 31. This includes the health departments in Bryan, Camden, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, Liberty, Long, and McIntosh counties. The district’s two drive-through COVID testing sites in Savannah and Hinesville will be closed Wednesday.
Anyone with a clinic appointment previously scheduled during the closure will be contacted to reschedule.
The National Weather Service said the greatest impacts for southeast Georgia and are expected to occur late Wednesday morning through early Thursday morning. Hurricane Idalia is expected to hit the Florida coast along what is known as the Big Bend early Wednesday morning as either a Category 3 or Category 4 storm.
Though Idalia is expected to weaken as it crosses north Florida and into south Georgia, it still could be a Category 1 hurricane as it nears coastal Georgia counties.
Forecasters are growing in confidence that heavy rainfall, between 4-8 inches, and flash flooding is possible across southeast Georgia.
The probability of tropical storm force winds remains moderate to high, especially along the coast. Hurricane conditions remain possible across portions of the Georgia Atlantic waters.
Forecasters also are warning about the likelihood of storm surge and coastal flooding. Based on the timing of the current forecast track, the Wednesday evening, around 8:30 p.m. high tide cycle could produce the highest water levels.
Also expected are rip currents, high surf, and possibly significant beach erosion, and a risk of tornadoes across southeast Georgia coastal counties Wednesday and Wednesday night.
Gov. Kemp has directed the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA/HS) to activate the State Operations Center (SOC) to monitor and prepare for any impact caused by Hurricane Idalia. Partners from all relevant state response agencies will closely monitor the storm as it moves toward Florida where it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday morning.
The Coastal Health District urges residents to be prepared as Hurricane Idalia approaches. They should:
- Have a three-day supply of non-perishable foods.
- Have one gallon of water per person per day.
- Have a three-day supply of prescription medications.
- Turn the refrigerator to the coldest setting.
- Secure homes by covering doors and windows.
- Charge phones and electronics.
To help its customers prepare and to provide more information on restoration efforts, Georgia Power has developed a series of storm videos and tips for before, during and after a storm on its Outage and Storm Center site, www.GeorgiaPower.com/Storm. The site includes important preparedness and safety information such as the following:
· Before a storm: Know your risks of flooding and tropical storm or hurricane strength winds. Check your emergency kit, unplug major appliances and charge cell phones in case you lose power. Follow any evacuation orders from local authorities.
· During a storm: Have several ways to receive emergency notifications and weather updates. Take safe shelter inside a sturdy building away from windows and doors. Avoid contact with conductors of electricity - appliances, metal objects and water.
· After a storm: Never touch any downed or low-hanging wire, including telephone or TV wires that touch a power line. Never pull tree limbs off power lines or enter areas with debris or downed trees as downed power lines may be buried in wreckage. Additionally, do not walk or drive through standing water or step onto saturated ground where downed lines may be present.
Before severe weather strikes, customers are encouraged to become familiar with Georgia Power’s Outage Map on www.GeorgiaPower.com/Storm www.eorgiapower.com/storm or within the Storm Center on www.GeorgiaPower.com that makes tracking and reporting outage information easy. The Outage Map automatically adjusts to function on any desktop, handheld or mobile device and has direct access to Georgia Power’s social media channels. Additionally, customers have greater search capabilities with concise alert information relating to their specific outage.
For more information on how to prepare for a tropical weather, visit ready.gov/hurricanes and weather.gov/safety/hurricane-plan.