Hurricane Irma: Savannah Evacuees Get Free Bus Service To Staging Area

SAVANNAH, GA — While the direct path of Hurricane Irma remains up in the air, officials in Chatham County are wasting no time coming up with a game plan in the event the storm bears down on Savannah — including offering free bus rides for Savannah evacuees. The Chatham Emergency Management Agency (CEMA) is monitoring the hurricane and is coordinating response efforts with local, regional and state agencies.

Savannah is under orders to evacuate by 8 a.m. Saturday ahead of Hurricane Irma, and Red Cross shelters are open in Macon for residents who need a place to stay. (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

Evacuation Information:

As of 1 p.m. Friday, officials announced that Chatham Area Transit will provide free service Saturday for those in need of transportation to the evacuation staging area at the Civic Center in downtown Savannah.

From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Chatham Area Transit downtown routes will be redirected to serve the staging area at the Civic Center. Once residents get to the Civic Center, they will have to fill out forms before getting on a bus to evacuate. The buses will most likely transport residents to Augusta, Ga. and will run from Saturday morning to Sunday evening.

Passengers can bring pets in carriers to the staging area. Residents are advised to bring only two small bags, as space on buses will be limited.

Authorities will change all of Interstate 16's lanes into a one-way route westbound Saturday morning. "If there's a freight train coming at you, then you get off the tracks," Tybee Island Mayor Jason Buelterman told the Associated Press.

Watch: Georgia's Island Residents Have Mixed Feelings On Evacuating

SEE ALSO:

• Hurricane Irma: Check Savannah Grocery Store Hours Here
  
• Southeast Georgia Evacuations Ordered, Red Cross Shelter Locations
  
• Hurricane Irma: Almost 3 Million Predicted To Be Without Power, Including Georgians
• Hurricane Irma: Georgia Ports To Close In Savannah, Brunswick
• Hurricane Irma: 'Freight Train' Of A Storm Barrels Toward Florida, Georgia, Carolinas

If possible, residents should leave coastal Georgia on Friday, authorities say.

At a Friday morning press conference, Gov. Nathan Deal reiterated the importance of residents who are under the mandatory evacuations to heed those warnings. “If you are in a mandatory evacuation area, evacuate because we can not risk the lives of those who are trying to help others by sending them into areas that we have already identified that are going to be hazardous to everyone’s health and safety."

Shelter locations:

The following is the current list of Red Cross shelters, as well as their planned opening times.

Effective on Thursday, September 7, 2017:

• East Macon Park: open at 5 p.m. Address: 3326 Ocmulgee E Blvd., Macon, GA 31217Effective on Friday, September 8, 2017:
• North Macon Park Community Center: open at 10 a.m. Address: 815 N Macon Park Dr., Macon, GA 31210
• Waycross High School: open at 5 p.m. Address: 700 Victory Dr., Waycross, GA 31503
• Blackshear Trail Elementary: open at 6 p.m. Address: 1001 Blackshear Road, Cordele, GA 31015

What is open, closed in Savannah:

All City of Savannah non-emergency customer services are closed through Tuesday, Sept. 12. According to city officials, this includes:

• Sanitation services, including garbage collection and the landfill. Residents are asked to secure garbage and recycling carts before the approach of Hurricane Irma.
• Utility services, including bill payment.
• Community services, including community centers.
• Business services, such as business tax certificates.
• Development services, including permitting and inspections.
• All city garages, except for the State Street Garage, which will remain free and open to the public throughout the storm.

The City of Savannah municipally-owned visitor centers will be closed starting Friday, Sept. 8, including: the Tri-Centennial Visitor Center located at 301 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, River Street Visitor Center and Ellis Square Visitor Center.

Check Savannah grocery store hours here.

Important contact information:

• To find a shelter please call 1-800-RED-CROSS.
• Citizens can report price gouging by calling the Georgia Department of Law's Consumer Protection Unit at 404-651-8600 or 1-800-869-1123.
• City's hurricane website and Chatham County's emergency website.

Pixabay Photo