Beaufort County’s flooding could be as bad as if we were in storm’s direct path, Sheriff’s Office says

Despite not lying directly in Hurricane Irma’s predicted path, storm surge in Beaufort County could be similar to Tampa, Fla., Lt. Col. Neil Baxley said at a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office press conference Sunday.

Beaufort County emergency officials warn of a storm surge of 4 to 6 feet starting Sunday night through Monday evening. Conditions Sunday afternoon already showed sustained 20 mph winds with gusts as high as 32 mph. High tide Monday shortly after noon will be the worst, they said.

“We avoided total devastation, but we’ve still got a storm to deal with,” Sheriff P.J. Tanner said. “We’re not going to see the brunt of this until tomorrow.”

Making landfall in the Florida Keys around 9 a.m. Sunday, Hurricane Irma continues to move up the western coast of Florida. As Irma’s width continues to “mushroom,” a hurricane watch and tropical storm warning are still in effect for Beaufort County.

Last fall, Hurricane Matthew erased the dune line on many of the barrier islands and has damaged “every bit of the repair work that’s been done already,” Baxley said, noting parking lots and the campground on Harbor Island are already inundated and there’s still several high tides to go.

“We’re not yet to the worst of it,” Baxley reiterated again.

The ground is saturated and has had little time to dry out, he said, so it won’t take much for trees to fall. There’s a “good potential” for beachfront homes to be damaged.

Evacuation is still ongoing and will continue throughout the storm, though Baxley offered the following advice to residents still waffling on whether to stay or go:

“If you want to go, you should go now.”

There are about 100 people still on Fripp Island, though Baxley predicted that number to fall when Beaufort-Jasper Water & Sewer Authority turns off water to the island Sunday afternoon.

About 95 of the 400 or so Daufuskie Island residents remained behind after the last ferry left the island Sunday at noon, Baxley said.

Curfew, which only applies to the barrier islands Saturday night, went “well,” Tanner said. The curfew will be in place again Sunday from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Monday.

Emergency management officials said they expect residents to return to their homes Tuesday, though that doesn’t necessarily mean one’s power will be running.

This story was originally published September 10, 2017 at 4:18 PM with the headline "Beaufort County’s flooding could be as bad as if we were in storm’s direct path, Sheriff’s Office says."