U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Pooler) paid a visit to the Liberty County EMA on Thursday and praised their work and the work of local officials in keeping residents informed during Hurricane Idalia.
“This is long from over,” he said, noting the November 30 end to the Atlantic hurricane season. “I’d rather be lucky than good and we were both. It didn’t turn out as bad as perhaps as we thought it might. And I credit EMA for the preparations they made to make sure everyone is notified and educated as to what they need to be doing.”
An EF-0 tornado touched down briefly in Fleming, and three structures were damaged when trees toppled on to them across the county from Hurricane Idalia.
Liberty County Emergency Management Agency Director Robert Dodd said damage assessment teams were out Thursday morning surveying the debris left in Idalia’s wake. But no roads were closed and there did not appear to be no injuries from the storm, he said.
There were 17 trees down on roads and seven down on power lines. The structures damaged by falling threes were two homes and one outbuilding, and the structures damaged were spread across the county.
The Fleming tornado did extensive damage to a barn, Dodd said. The tornado had peak winds of 85 mph, according to the National Weather Service’s Charleston, S.C., office and was on the ground for .53 miles. The tornado touched down about a half-mile east-southeast of Mt. Olivet Church Road and moved rapidly toward the northwest, ending just west of Mt. Olivet Church Road.
U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Pooler) paid a visit to the Liberty County EMA on Thursday and praised their work and the work of local officials in keeping residents informed.
“This is long from over,” he said, noting the EMA officials also briefed Carter on how the emergency operations center works during an event and the potential for a new EMA center.
“It’s good he shows his support for a small county like Liberty,” Dodd said of Carter’s visit.
FEMA’s funds are being drained by a number of disasters that have required federal assistance, but Carter said Congress will make sure FEMA has the resources needed to respond to future events. The National Hurricane Center is predicting 1217 named storms for this year’s hurricane season, with one to four major hurricanes. Idalia was the ninth named storm.
He added having to supplement FEMA’s funding is typical.
“FEMA is going to have the resources, both financially and personnel wise, to take care of all these natural disasters,” he said. “It’s difficult to predict how many natural disasters we’re going to have. Worrying about FEMA not having the resources it needs should be the least of your worries.”
Carter also urged residents to heed the cautions issued by EMA officials in times of emergencies.
“When they tell you to leave, leave. When they tell you to get prepared, get prepared,” he said.
November 30 end to the Atlantic hurricane season. “I’d rather be lucky than good and we were both. It didn’t turn out as bad as perhaps as we thought it might. And I credit EMA for the preparations they made to make sure everyone is notified and educated as to what they need to be doing.”
Liberty EMA officials also said residents should be careful about what Facebook posts they are sharing, since there is a Liberty County in Florida, not far from Tallahassee, and if a shelter is opened there for a hurricane, it will get tagged on social media as being in Liberty County, Georgia.