A Close Call
Sapelo Island was hit by the storm surge from Tropical Storm Nicole last week, which came in about two feet higher than predicted. GA DNR reported 12” of water in the lighthouse and water over many roads, including the Marsh Landing parking lot.
UGAMI was very lucky during the storm, but we did have minor flooding in both the carpenter’s shop and first floor labs. When the ferry resumed on Friday morning UGAMI commuters were able to get back to the island for an all-hands clean-up, and the flooded areas were cleaned up by noon. We are counting ourselves fortunate that things were not worse and are grateful to the entire staff for rallying so quickly.
The rest of the island did not sustain substantial damage aside from the beach pavilion on Nanny Goat Beach, which lost an estimated 15’ of dunes on top of substantial loss from Hurricane Ian in October. Pictured above are the stairs that washed up some ways south of the pavilion, which remains roped off until repairs can be made.
Let’s hope that this was the last storm for a while!