SAVANNAH, Ga (WSAV) – Today marks exactly one week since Hurricane Idalia rolled through the Coastal Empire and Mayor Van Johnson spoke about the storm’s impact Wednesday morning.

Well over 50,000 people were left with no electricity and 75 trees came crashing down last Wednesday. The mayor told News 3, 8 power lines were also affected because of the hurricane.

“Some people I learned did not take it as seriously and did not anticipate the impacts of not having electricity, not having lighting, and not having food that’s nonperishable,” Mayor Johnson said. “We’re hoping this is an experience they can learn from.”

Over a 24-hour period, the city got more than 1,000 calls for help.  Mayor Johnson tells us public safety had all hands on deck. He stressed the importance of being ready to respond during severe weather and said the city’s hurricane plan has been in place since last December.

“The fact is we plan, we plan, we plan,” he explained. “Last week we had to execute, and we can’t rest on our laurels because there’s other storms out on the ocean and they’re moving this way.”

Because of this, being prepared allowed for Mayor Johnson to make these remarks.

“Savannah is and remains a blessed community,” Mayor Johnson said. “I will say that and I will keep saying it. We knew at this time or so last week that Savannah was going to get the brunt of Hurricane Idalia.”