Savannah Standard

City offices in Savannah will open at 10 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 27, due to the anticipated impacts from Hurricane Helene. On Thursday, city operations and offices remained open.

Essential emergency services, including public safety, water and sewer, stormwater management, park and tree maintenance, and traffic engineering, will continue to operate at full capacity as weather conditions allow.

The City’s Sanitation Department will not conduct street sweeping on Thursday evening. Yard waste collection has been rescheduled from Friday to Saturday this week to give residents time to gather storm-related debris.

The Recorder’s Court traffic docket set for 9 a.m. on Friday has been canceled and will be rescheduled.

Due to flooding on Thursday, nearly 20 roads have been closed in Savannah with more closures expected through Friday night. Updates on road closures and other storm-related information can be found online.

As of 6 p.m. Thursday, Chatham County is under a Tropical Storm Warning and Tornado Watch. The forecast predicts 2-4 inches of rainfall with a possible storm surge of 1-3 feet. High winds are expected with speeds of 25-35 mph and gusts up to 45 mph. There is a high probability of tropical storm winds arriving by Thursday evening.

Residents are reminded that the city-wide siren system will sound when a tornado warning is issued by the National Weather Service (NWS). "When the sirens sound, residents are asked to seek shelter immediately." The sirens will run for three minutes, pause for ten minutes, then activate again for three minutes until the warning is canceled by the NWS.

The City will provide sand and sandbags at the EnMarket Arena parking lot until 8 p.m. or until supplies last on Thursday. Sandbags are limited to ten per resident who must bring their own shovel.

A state of local emergency was declared on Wednesday at noon, giving the City Manager authority to execute emergency plans and procure resources necessary for Hurricane Helene's impact.

Residents can call 311 or submit service requests online for questions about city services. For updates specific to Savannah, follow @cityofsavannah on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter.