Here’s what we know so far about Irma’s damage to Hilton Head Island

Water marks on homes, standing water in the streets and downed tree limbs were common sights across Hilton Head after Tropical Storm Irma blew through the Lowcountry Monday.

On Tuesday, the town began assessing damage across the island. Chris Yates, the town’s building official, said Thursday that assessment is ongoing.

“The damage is not as widespread as it was during (Hurricane) Matthew,” he said. “We’re about halfway done.”

Yates said town staff have not yet made it to the southern end of the island for inspections, where Irma flooded the Harbour Town area and took out a chunk of South Beach in Sea Pines.

Most of the damage that about 14 assigned town employees have seen so far has been in Wexford Plantation, areas off Skull Creek, the Folly Field and Singleton Beach areas, Squire Pope Road, and areas around Broad Creek, Yates said.

Total estimated damage to date is about $500,000, with most of it involving a handful of structures, Yates said. More than 8,000 homes and businesses have been assessed out of about 19,600 in areas most affected by flooding. Of the 8,000 inspected buildings, about a dozen structures were found to be damaged, and fewer than five sustained at least 50 percent damage, he said.

Damage assessment is a tiered process, Yates said. First, teams drive down streets and look closely at each home or business for any damage. If there is damage, an inspector will go back out to perform a more thorough assessment, and if needed, another inspection will be done after that.

Inspections are not being done islandwide, but only in areas most affected by flooding, according to a Tuesday town news release. Inspectors are leaving a color placard at each inspected structure: A green placard indicates minor damage; a yellow placard indicates more than minor damage; and a red placard indicates serious damage that makes a structure unsafe.

Yates said building owners who do not have a placard by Friday should contact the town. He said he expects damage assessments to be completed by the middle of next week.

“We just ask that people be patient,” Yates said. “We are moving along pretty good, in a quicker and shorter amount of time. I think that’s from lessons learned in Matthew, and that the damage is not as great. This is a completely different storm.”

This story was originally published September 14, 2017 at 12:14 PM with the headline "Here’s what we know so far about Irma’s damage to Hilton Head Island."