STATESBORO, Ga. () — With hurricane season already in progress, officials mentioned their readiness to establish a temporary hurricane city if necessary on the University of Georgia Southern’s campus.
The Chatham County area has seen and survived its fair share of storms, but officials said a direct hit from a Category 3, 4 or 5 wouldn’t be pretty.
“We physically do not have a facility that’s able to withstand that,” said Randall Mathews, Chatham EMA deputy director.
Mathews said the greatest threat to their operation is flooding coming from the coast.
“The last scenario you want is a storm arriving here, damaging all of the equipment, and as the storm moves on, having no equipment or personnel available to immediately respond and assist,” they emphasized.
If the storm is bad enough to evacuate, they’ve got a backup plan: moving emergency personnel out to one of Georgia Southern’s three campuses.
“It’s crucial for them to maintain these operations so they can aid in swift recovery efforts, facilitating a quick return of people to Chatham County or other evacuated coastal areas,” explained Erick Riner, GSU’s director of emergency management.
He said they’ve agreed to provide spaces for first responders to work and recharge after their shift ends.
“This is just a small part of what we can do to help those communities that are impacted by hurricanes,” said Riner.
Riner said their large buildings and parking lots make them a good place for a temporary headquarters. He said they’ve extended the offer to several agencies across our area.
Chatham County has plans to build a new emergency center that will be able to withstand higher level storms. There’s no timeline yet for its completion, but officials said they’ll begin construction soon.
