Douglas Police & Coffee Co. EMA assess damages from Idalia

DOUGLAS, Ga. – The City of Douglas opened the central square gym early Wednesday morning and by the time the eye of the storm passed through in the afternoon, more than 100 people had already taken shelter here.

I spoke with the city manager about the severity of Idalia.

Charles Davis says Idalia is unlike any storm that had previously made its way through Coffee County.

“Typically, Coffee County does not sustain a hurricane’s direct hit. And we were lucky this time cause it kind of went east to us. But, in these heavy storms, and heavy rains, shelters play a vital part in operations,” Charles Davis, City Manager, Douglas.

That’s why thanks to good coordination, the City of Douglas was able to help out more than 100 people who were in danger of being impacted by Idalia.

“We made a decision like our sister cities, Valdosta and a few others to open some local shelters. Like most cities and counties, we have some people in some low-lying areas, we have some people that are in mobile home structures, that during high winds and tornadoes are not structurally sound enough for some of that. So we open that up to give people shelter,” said Davis.

As members of the community continue to ride out the storm in the Central Square Gym, Davis says there’s still plenty of room for people, no matter how far they’re coming from.

“Douglas/Coffee county, the gymnasium here over the years, this has been kind of the place where everybody comes. So, people evacuating out of Florida a lot of the times, kind of plan their evacuation sites around Douglas. Also for our local community, when we have local events, this has played a large role over the years for safety here at the shelter,” said Davis.

And, while Idalia is continuing to move out of the area, at this time, the all clear still has not been given by the Douglas Police or Coffee County EMA as the damage assessment begins.

Brian Roche reporting.

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