After Helene, they said to stay home. You’re not listening
- ow to file an insurance claim after storm damage
- School, office closures due to impacts from Hurricane Helene
- Helene spawns curfews in Augusta, elsewhere across CSRA
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Local officials have onished residents for two days to stay at home and off roadways in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
In spite of that, roads were busy Saturday in Augusta as panic-buying set in.
Even getting to your destination is like an obstacle course, dodging fallen trees and drivers who blow through intersections where the lights aren’t working.
To help fix that, Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson said 174 troops are in Augusta, and the Guard has two chainsaw strike teams and heavy equipment in Burke County, where their priority is evacuation routes from Plant Vogtle.
Long lines of cars waited to get into the few gas stations and grocery stores that were open.
Then lines of people snaked around the buildings as customers waited to get inside supermarkets.
At the new Kroger Marketplace on Jimmie Dyess Parkway, there was a traffic jam in all directions where the traffic signals were out. Some people abandoned their cars on the shoulder and hauled gas cans up and down a hill to get their fuel.
Other people could be seen pushing full shopping carts along the roadway, well away from the store.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
Helene kills at least 20 people across the CSRA, including 4 children
At least 20 deaths in the CSRA are blamed on Hurricane Helene, including four young kids. The deaths span the CSRA, including Richmond, Aiken, Saluda, Washington, Columbia and McDuffie counties.
Traffic outside Costco off Riverwatch Parkway was even worse.
It took a couple of hours to get through the line of cars waiting to get to Costco – with traffic going east on Riverwatch, where it was being directed to travel straight forward with no left turn. At the next major intersection, Topgolf Way, U-turns were allowed so cars could get into an equally slow-moving line westward.
And while most of the drivers were trying to get gas – and likely using a lot of it in the traffic – the mess affected anyone trying to get into the neighborhood – including News 12 staff trying to get to station a couple of doors down from Costco.
The great irony is that the gas station’s generator eventually blew, shutting down the whole operation and rendering the hours in line useless for hundreds of drivers.
At other gas stations that weren’t even selling gas, people parked at the pumps anyway in a vain effort to be first in line in case the pumps started working.
Follow this checklist if your car has flood damage after Helene
When Hurricane Helene moved through the region, floodwaters might have partially or fully submerged your car. That can lead to extensive damage and costly repairs, according to experts.
Time will tell whether the frenzy will continue in the week before power is expected to be back on.
In the meantime, we’ll take what we can get.
While most traffic signals aren’t working – which Johnson reminded us on Saturday means to treat it as a four-way stop – some lights are starting to come on.
That includes the one at Riverwatch Parkway and Alexander Drive – which came on Saturday afternoon just as the disappointed Costco gas buyers left.
WHERE TO CALL:
- In Georgia, call 511 to report flash flooding, downed trees or other obstructions that impede travel on roadways or bridges
- In South Carolina, 855-467-2368.
Traffic tips
- Call 511 to report flash flooding, downed trees or other obstructions that impede travel on roadways or bridges.
- Do not drive around barricades that are in place for motorist safety or through standing water.
- Residents should never clear tree limbs, downed trees or debris from roadways, live power lines could be tangled in debris and can cause injury or death; instead, wait for Georgia DOT and Georgia Power crews.
- Motorists who must drive should always treat flashing red and non-operational signals as a four-way stop.
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