Hurricane Idalia brings 50 mph winds, widespread power outages to Coffee County

Hurricane Idalia carved a path of destruction as she moved through Coffee County, leaving roadways blocked, trees down, and tens of thousands of citizens without power.

The rain, while significant, did not cause any major problems locally. The low lying areas that tend to flood whenever there is above average rainfall had some trouble but there appears to have been no widespread flooding. 

The wind — that’s another story.

The Coffee County Emergency Management Agency reports sustained winds (defined as wind speeds lasting at least one minute) at 50 mph with gusts higher than that. 

Idalia began showing her true colors Wednesday morning. She unleashed her full fury early in the afternoon but thankfully, by about 3 p.m., winds had fallen below the 35 mph mark. Several shelters were open in Coffee County but the last ones closed at 6 p.m. By then, Idalia had taken her anger and indignation to the northeast. 

Power crews have worked non-stop around the clock restoring service to the thousands who remain in the dark. Their work will continue until every household has its power restored.

Thursday morning, county EMA Director Steve Carver released the following statement:

“Coffee County has been blessed that we didn't have any more damages than we did. We had sustained winds near 50 mph for a period of time with higher gusts and received over six inches of rain in some areas.

“A lot are still without power this morning. Crews from Satilla REMC, City of Douglas, Georgia Power and crews from other areas who have come to our aid has worked through the night with no rest and will continue to work to restore power. The Road Department, Coffee County Sheriff's Department, Coffee County Fire Department and City of Douglas Street Department and Fire Department have worked to remove trees and will continue as the power companies get the lines out of them to open our roads back up. Thank you to all of these men and women who are serving our community! Please be patient as they are working with little to no rest. Thank you to those who helped with the shelters also.

“If you had structural damage from the storm please email pictures and location to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. so we can document it.”