HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (WSAV) — Idalia brought wind speeds of more than 60 miles per hour and heavy rain to Beaufort County. Now that the storm is gone, clean-up crews across the county got to work.
Lucky for them no one was hurt, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
“The storm jogged to the west a couple of times. It became this dry spot within the eastern side of the storm. And when it came through, it came too pretty fast,” Hilton Head Island Mayor Alan Perry said. “And we didn’t experience the winds that we thought we were going to have. And so we didn’t have the storm surge. And, you know, that’s so fortunate.”
The storm still left its imprint on the island. The streets were littered with tree limbs and debris.
“About 30 trees down. Everything’s isolated, though. Any impacts are isolated, whether it’s some sand scraping on the beach, trees that have impacted some homes, downed trees across parking lots or pathways,” said Marc Orlando, town manager of Hilton Head Island. “And the impacts, though, are manageable. And we’re back at it today cleaning up, assessing and making sure everybody’s okay.”
One of those was at the Publix on the north end of the island.
However, two of the island’s baby sea turtles nests were lost in the storm, according to The Hilton Head Island Sea Turtle Patrol.
“If the water comes up and sits on the nest. It will drown the nest because the eggs and if there are hatchlings in there, they have to breathe,” Carrell Cranswick said.
Thousands in Jasper and Beaufort counties lost power at some point during the storm as well.
However, all in all, the island woke up feeling relieved.
“We are beyond blessed. You know, our neighboring communities, they got hit hard and they’ve got a lot to deal with,” Mayor Perry said. “But also, we want our residents and guests to know that when these storms come around, they’re serious.”
Town officials say they’re grateful that the island was mostly spared, but preparations like this could be dress rehearsals for the next big storm.
