On Daufuskie, the 95 who stayed report rain, howling winds and ‘a lot of banging around’

Residents of Daufuskie Island — who stayed behind despite a mandatory evacuation order of the five Beaufort County barrier islands ahead of Hurricane Irma — reported howling winds and power outages early Monday morning as the storm continued its track northwest.

“The wind is howling and it is raining,” James Bay wrote in a text message around 4:30 a.m. “We don’t have damage yet but are being very cautious. I think we are going to move downstairs in case the trees start to fall.”

Melissa Davis sent a text message around the same time and described “a lot of banging around.”

“I hear the wind lashing loudly but so far can’t see any trees down close to me,” she wrote.

She said her husband will, if need be, start clearing any roads so the couple can go check on neighbors and friends.

About 95 people are on Daufuskie, according to officials.

The last ferry from the island to the mainland ran Sunday at noon.

Last October, “The Daufuskie 100” — a group of about a hundred residents who didn’t heed then-S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley’s evacuation order ahead of Hurricane Matthew — made headlines when Haley pleaded for them to leave the island, and told them she feared it would be underwater.

Earlier in the week, Bays said many of The Daufuskie 100 had decided to evacuate ahead of Irma after witnessing firsthand the destruction of a hurricane.

There was more than $1.6 million in property damage after Matthew, according to a county damage assessment.

This story was originally published September 11, 2017 at 7:40 AM with the headline "On Daufuskie, the 95 who stayed report rain, howling winds and ‘a lot of banging around’."