After historic rainfall from Tropical Storm Debby last week and into the weekend, Savannah Mayor Van Johnson promised that the city would respond with equally historic effort to solve problems created by the more than 19 billion gallons of water dumped over the city from Monday, Aug. 5 through Wednesday, Aug. 7.

Days later, water levels on the Ogeechee River began causing massive flooding on roadways across Savannah’s southside and into stretches of Chatham and Bryan Counties. Over the weekend (Aug. 9-11), an emergency effort that included both Chatham and Bryan Counties, the City of Savannah, and hundreds of other volunteers, resulted in a temporary roadway being constructed to allow for citizens to access homes, jobs and schools. The work went late into the night on Sunday, Aug. 11.

On Tuesday, Aug. 13 at his weekly press briefing, Johnson spoke only praise for those men and women who made it possible.

“I continue to be amazed at the service and the dedication of the greatest public servants in the world. I know, because I’m there with them,” said the mayor from City Hall. “This team was there for all of the challenges. Although I’m the one standing here, many of them, their names don’t show up in this briefing. Their names aren’t in the lights. But in my mind, they are all the superstars.”

Johnson said the Savannah Fire Department (SFD) delivered food, water and medicine to 34 homes over a 72-hour stint (Friday, Aug. 9 – Sunday, Aug. 11). SFD helped rescue 473 citizens and 43 pets according to the mayor.
“Natural disasters are scary. We realize that in the midst of our technology, in the midst of all of the things we are big enough to do as a society, at the end of the day, Mother Nature is still Mother Nature. And she showed us that with Debby,” Johnson said. “I’m reminded that even during challenging days, even during difficult days, we still give thanks, and we still are grateful. So even during the last challenging days that we have faced and that we are facing, and that we may continue to face, we are grateful for things just as they are.”
Chatham County issued a press release on Tuesday afternoon about the weekend efforts leading to the temporary road’s construction.

“A considerate landowner offered the temporary use of private property for the construction of a road to provide access and egress to the Bradley Point neighborhood,” the release said. “Teams from [Savannah] and [Chatham County] together leapt into action to make the road a reality without delay. Chatham County Public Works leadership gladly contributed resources to support this joint undertaking.”

The county’s release also pointed to the idea of the project–specifically how efficiently it was constructed–being an example for future City of Savannah leaders and Chatham County officials alike. The two governments can work quickly and effectively together, and if it wasn’t apparent before, there is ample proof of it now.

“From the hours of 7:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. [on Sunday-Monday], five tandem truckloads of graded aggregate base materials–roughly 155 tons–were loaded and transported,” according to the press release. “The new temporary road connecting Bradley Boulevard with Waycross Road may come and go with the storm waters, but the cooperative efforts to serve our community are a sign of something more lasting.”

This article appears in Connect Savannah I July 2024.