Highway 80 To Tybee Island Closed: Hurricane Irma

SAVANNAH, GA — Highway 80 to Tybee Island is temporarily closed per order of Savannah-Chatham Metro Police because of rising waters, county officials said Monday. (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

Tide is running 3.4 feet above normal. High tide occurred at 12:30 p.m. and water came across Highway 80 rapidly, rendering it impassable. Residents can expect the bridge to remain closed until it is inspected late Monday afternoon.

Residents on Tybee Island will remain there until the bridge is safe, officials said.

Tybee Island's mayor, Jason Buelterman, said Monday afternoon that there are "lots of flooded homes and neighborhoods that didn't flood during Matthew."

"There are some disturbing images of flooding on Tybee being shared on-line and in local media. Keep in mind, we didn't see some of these images during Matthew because the worst of that storm hit at night," Buelterman said on Facebook Monday.

Watch: Up Close Views Of Powerful Irma

Power is out to most of the island, Buelterman said. A power pole was damaged near the Lazaretto Creek Bridge. Buelterman's staff secured back-up pumps for sewage lift stations on the island, so that shouldn't be a concern.

The storm surge at Fort Pulaski, across the bridge from Tybee, is expected to reach a record tide level of 13.38 feet, the National Hurricane Center says.

Tybee Island Police Department's non-emergency number (912-786-5600) is currently unavailable. Residents are asked to call 911 for emergency only.

The storm was downgraded from a Category 1 hurricane early Monday morning as it departed Florida and entered southern Georgia near Albany. The center of Tropical Storm Irma will move into southern Georgia this afternoon while steadily weakening, forecasters said. Flash flooding will be possible, with the highest chance occurring across southeast Georgia.

Tybee Island residents are asked to be extremely cautious and avoid going outside until further notice.

"It goes without saying that people who remained on Tybee should not be out on the roads, should stay inside and need to exercise extreme caution. Even after the storm has passed, there may be downed power lines," Buelterman said.

Here's the latest on what you need to know as Tropical Storm Irma churns through Savannah:

• Very little damage is reported in Savannah at this time. There are some branches in the road, but there are very few trees down at this time, officials say.
• Hurricane Irma weakens to a tropical storm, but it's still dangerous.
• Major universities such as the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, Georgia State, Kennesaw State University, Emory University and the University of West Georgia are also closed for business and classes.
• Social media users are losing it over the news of a tropical storm warning blanketing Atlanta.

Photos: Tybee Island Police Department