Hurricane Helene Greatly Impacts Statesboro and Savannah Community

Anna Claire Edenfield and Vanessa Alcala

September 29, 2024

Georgia Southern University confirmed all campuses are closed and classes are canceled Monday and Tuesday following the powerful impact of Hurricane Helene.

“All Georgia Southern campuses are closed through Tuesday, October 1. Only essential personnel should be on campus during this time.” To view the entire Eagle Alert click here.

Helene left fallen trees, broken traffic lights, downed power poles and debris in its path through Statesboro. The storm caused widespread power outages and water shortages across the community. Students reported waiting in long lines for hours at gas stations, with some stations even running out of fuel.

Thousands of people in Bulloch and Chatham County have been facing power outages and are without water sources since the early hours of the storm last Friday. As of Sept. 29, over 18,000 individuals are still without power in Bulloch County and over 60,000 individuals are still without power in Chatham County, according to Find Energy.

There is also a boil-water advisory in effect for some areas in Bulloch and Chatham County, according to Water Utility Management.

We spoke to a few Georgia Southern students who shared their experiences of Helene’s impact over the past few days.

GS junior Kelsey Baker discussed the struggles she’s felt without power as a resident at Cambridge. “It’s made it significantly harder to keep in contact with my parents and friends who were also impacted by the hurricane,” she said. “It’s been very difficult to function normally due to the lack of AC.” Baker explained that she has been spending the majority of her time at her job because it has working AC and food she can eat if needed. “My daily routine has definitely been altered, since there are no classes I wake up later, and spend most of my time working or sitting in my car to keep my phone charged, which is not ideal.”

GS junior Anna Stennis is a resident at Cottage Row and has been without power or water for three days. “We had to go over to my friend’s house at Axis because she was the only one with power and water,” Stennis said. “We packed bags to come over and are basically living at her house until things get better.”

Brooks Robinson is a GS freshman and resident at Centennial Place. He lost power in the early morning of the storm and described the discomfort of being without air conditioning. Robinson also spoke about the challenges of getting gas. “I went down to the Parker’s by the stadium to get gas and had to wait for an hour,” Robinson said.

One student resident at Monarch who wished to remain anonymous discussed her experience during the overnight storm. “I felt nervous during the storm, being that I didn’t expect it to be as bad as it was. I heard trees falling and things being blown off the roof of my apartment building,” she said. “I made sure I had flashlights and an emergency plan just in case I needed shelter in place.”

Gallery: Hurricane Helene Aftermath

Resources Available to the Community

As Statesboro recovers, many local facilities have opened their doors to provide drinking water and a place to shower.

According to Grice Connect, Pittman Park Church, City of Statesboro Maintenance Facility and Bulloch County Ag Arena are open to the public to get drinking water – for more details click here.

Statesboro-Bulloch Chamber of Commerce, Statesboro YMCA, Pittman Park UMC and Splash in the Boro are offering places to shower and charge devices, find more details here.

For the latest updates on power outages in your area use these interactive maps below. To view an estimated restoration date, click on the specific outage in your area.

Bulloch County

Chatham County