Local officials and utility providers gathered at Ogeechee Technical College Wednesday morning, April 23, 2025, to discuss Bulloch County's response to the significant weather events of late 2024 – specifically Hurricanes Debby and Helene, and a historic November rain event – and to outline strategies for future preparedness. The meeting, hosted by Morris Bank as a community service, featured insights from the City of Statesboro, Bulloch County, Georgia Power, and Excelsior EMC.
Cliff Wildes, Commercial Banker at Morris Bank opened the event by emphasizing the importance of providing beneficial information to the community, highlighting the impact of the three "catastrophic weather bands" that hit the area in quick succession.
Statesboro City Manager Charles Penny spoke first, recounting a personal anecdote about the severity of Hurricane Helene's winds and expressing gratitude to Morris Bank for hosting this event and the city's 330 employees for their dedication to citizen safety and essential services. Penny detailed the city's response, noting that while Tropical Storm Debby primarily impacted the county, Hurricane Helene brought significant winds to the city. He praised the crucial coordination between the city and Bulloch County's emergency management agency, particularly highlighting the effective use of the CodeRED alert system and the consistent messaging from city and county public affairs managers.
Penny reported that the city of Statesboro's infrastructure fared relatively well with no major damage to water and wastewater systems, which remained operational due to backup generators. However, he noted challenges with communication, specifically the failure of a major mobile provider's system, which has led the city to secure dual cell access and satellite phones for future emergencies. Acknowledging lessons learned, Penny stressed the importance of not solely relying on weather predictions and being prepared for varying storm tracks.
He also addressed the impracticality of having police officers directing traffic at every intersection during widespread power outages, urging citizens to treat non-operational traffic lights as four-way stops. Penny estimated the city incurred around $2.5 million in cleanup costs, with fortunate partial reimbursement received. He urged citizens to heed advisories, stay off roads during storms, and prepare survival kits.
Bulloch County Interim County Manager and Public Safety Director Randy Tillman introduced Corey Kemp, the county's EMA Director, noting Kemp's timely arrival in the position just a month before the first major storm. Tillman shared a lighthearted story about being out of the country during one of the storms and relying on his capable team.
Director Kemp provided statistics and details on the storms' impact across Bulloch County. He highlighted the widespread flooding of county roads and the significant damage to dirt roads, many of which were washed away. Kemp pointed to the unexpected breaching of several privately-owned dams during the heavy rain event in November, which caused significant downstream flooding. He admitted that the county's initial response to the dam breaches was somewhat reactive and emphasized the need for more proactive measures and hydrological data in the future.
Kemp commended the work of various response teams, including Georgia Search and Rescue, local fire departments, and Bulloch VOAD, for their assistance with rescues and opening shelters. He noted communication issues, particularly the failure of cell service, as a major challenge, which underscored the importance of reliable radio communication and brought response teams closer together as they had to coordinate in person. Kemp stated that the county's future model will be more proactive in storm preparedness.
Joel Hanner Georgia Power Company Area Manager presented images illustrating the widespread devastation across the state and the massive logistical effort required for power restoration. He showed photos of downed transmission lines, damaged poles, and the "tent cities" set up to house the thousands of linemen who converged on affected areas from across the country and Canada. Hanner emphasized the collaborative effort between utilities during such large-scale events and highlighted the sheer volume of materials needed for repairs, including thousands of poles and transformers. He also shared stories of community support for the restoration crews.
Greg Proctor, CEO of Excelsior EMC, echoed many of Hanner's points, describing the significant impact on their service territory, which experienced 100% outages affecting nearly 25,000 meters and multiple substations. Proctor emphasized the challenge of blocked roads hindering damage assessment and crew deployment. He detailed the rapid establishment of a tent city for over 450 out-of-state crew members and the coordination required to secure lodging and resources.
Proctor explained the strategic approach to restoration, prioritizing getting power back to the largest number of people quickly while simultaneously working to clear roads and restore critical infrastructure like cell towers. He shared a graph showing the step-by-step nature of power restoration and the immense effort required to bring the final, often rural, customers back online.
Proctor expressed deep appreciation for the community's overwhelming kindness and support shown to the visiting linemen. He offered practical advice for citizens, including staying away from downed power lines, keeping debris clear of poles, avoiding building structures that obstruct access to equipment, and considering evacuation when a strong storm is predicted. He concluded by sharing a slide with a message of hope shared by citizens during the restoration efforts, acknowledging the challenging nature of the work for the crews but emphasizing the importance of perseverance.
The meeting concluded with remarks from John Roach, Market President of Morris Bank, reiterating the theme of community strength and collaboration evident throughout the presentations, particularly the neighbor-helping-neighbor spirit observed immediately after the storms. Roach thanked all the speakers and attendees for their participation in the informative event.
