Hurricane Matthew: Mandatory Evacuations Lifted Sunday

Mandatory evacuations of Georgia's coastline were lifted Sunday morning, as Hurricane Matthew drifted off of the Virginia coast and dissipated.

However, more than 190,000 Georgians remained without power and troubling damage reports were rolling in, making the decision whether to return home a tricky one for the more than a half-million people in the state who fled the storm.

Coastal officials said 5 p.m. would be when residents of all evacuated areas may return home.

"As of 5 p.m. Sunday, Chatham County will be open to everyone," the Chatham Emergency Management Agency said on its website. "All restrictions will be lifted. However, we are recommending that you use caution if you plan to return this evening."

At 12:30 p.m. Sunday, 191,796 Georgia Power customers were without service, according to the company's outage map.

Nearly all of them were in the swath of southeast Georgia hit hard when Matthew made its way up the Atlantic coast late Friday and early Saturday as a Category 2 hurricane.

As the storm made its way off the North Carolina shore and out to sea on Sunday, dissipating into a post-tropical cyclone, four people had been confirmed dead in Georgia due to the storm.

The Chatham Emergency Management Agency in Savannah said late Saturday that two people have been killed in Chatham County.

Two other Georgia deaths happened near Statesboro in Bulloch County, according to an Associated Press report.

The deaths all were believed to have either happened while the victim was driving or by trees hitting people who had stayed in place during the hurricane.

Emergency officials were stressing that recovery efforts are still in their early phases.

The American Red Cross has opened a shelter at the Savannah International Trade and Convention Center on Hutchinson Island, largely for people who have attempted to return to their homes but found they were unable to do so.

No longer a hurricane, Matthew was expected to head out to sea early Sunday morning and dissipate, avoiding a loop back to Florida that some forecasters had feared.

The deadly storm knocked out power to more than 1.3 million and killed at least 9 in North Carolina, Florida and Georgia. The death toll in Haiti stands at 877. The economic damage from Matthew could easily reach more than $4 billion, according to a USA Today report.

On another front in Georgia, state officials were urging residents to be wary of phony charities springing up claiming to be offering relief for Hurricane Matthew victims.

"I am advising all potential donors to research any organization seeking funds for victims impacted by Hurricane Matthew," Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp said in a news release. "Unfortunately, the circumstances are ripe for bad actors to abuse Georgians’ urgent desire to help their fellow man in time of need. We must all remain vigilant."

Photo by Jason Nielubowicz. Used with permission.