Refrigerated Trailer for Rent in Savannah, GA

Now that there is a slight chill in the air and a drop in the humidity, getting out and about on the weekends in Savannah is a must. Here are some activities you will not want to miss >>

Georgia Southern University's production of David Linsday-Abaire's Rabbit Hole

7:30 p.m., Oct. 24-24; 3 p.m., Oct. 26, Jenkins Mainstage Theater, Fine Arts Hall, Armstrong Campus, 11935 Abercorn St. Tickets $12, armstrongboxoffice@georgiasouthern.edu.

Phil in the Neighborhood

The Savannah Philharmonic has expanded this weekend's annual fall “Phil The Neighborhood” series to include an additional concert downtown in Chippewa Square. Musicians from the Savannah Philharmonic orchestra will perform music from all genres in a relaxed fun environment throughout the city at the following locations:

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Free and open to the public, savannahphilharmonic.org/phil-in-the-neighborhood

Great Ogeechee Music & Seafood Festival

One of the largest festivals in the Southeast, features live music from this year's headliners Clint Black, Sara Evans and the Marshall Tucker Band; amusement rides, arts and crafts, and mouth-watering seafood.

5 to 11 p.m., Oct. 25; 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., Oct. 26; JF Gregory Park, 521 Cedar St., Richmond Hill; Tickets $25-$70, rhbcchamber.org/seafood-festival

Savannah State University Homecoming Parade

9 a.m., Oct. 26, downtown Savannah, free and open to the public, savannahstate.edu/homecoming

19th Annual Wag-o-Ween

Noon to 5 p.m., Oct. 26-27, Pulaski Square and Starland Yard. Tickets $12-$50, wagoween.org

Rocky Horror Picture Show LIVE

7:30 p.m., Oct. 25-27; 3 p.m., Oct. 27; 7:30 p.m. and midnight, Oct. 31; Bay Street Theatre at Club One, 1 Jefferson St. Tickets $25, rockyhorrorshowlive.com

Isle of Hope Art and Music Festival

Along Bluff Drive, enjoy more 125 art and food vendors. Live music will play from the main stage at the TPG Isle of Hope Marina and Paxton Park.

10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Oct. 26, Isle of Hope. Admission is free, iohartandmusicfestival.com.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - In response to the damage caused by Tropical Storm Debby and Hurricane Helene, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will open a Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) at Savannah Technical College beginning on Tuesday, October 22, 2024.

The center will offer in-person assistance for residents seeking support with disaster-related needs and questions. Local state and federal resources will be available in person to ask questions. Residents may also visit to ask questions about their case.

“People should know that there is aid available. I know you hear all kinds of rumors of the bad things that will happen if you apply for FEMA aid, and that’s not true. One of the new things that we have is the assistance that we have available for people who have accessibility needs. If your home is damaged and, for example, you know somebody who needs a ramp put on the home or grab bars inside a bathroom that wasn’t there prior to the damage to your home, we can actually put those in for you as well,” said Debra Young, FEMA.

Location: Savannah Technical College 5717 White Bluff Road Savannah, GA 31405

Operating Hours:

How the DRC Can Help:

At the DRC, residents can:

Residents do not need to visit a DRC to apply for FEMA assistance. Homeowners and renters can apply online at DisasterAssistance.gov, through the FEMA app, or by calling 1-800-621-3362. The telephone line is available daily, and support is offered in multiple languages.

FEMA Assistance Eligibility and Documents Needed:

To be eligible for assistance, applicants must meet the following conditions:

Before starting a FEMA application or visiting the Disaster Recovery Center, residents will need to have the information below with them.

What is needed for applying:

Those with homeowners, renters, or flood insurance, should file a claim as soon as possible. FEMA cannot duplicate benefits for losses covered by insurance. If the policy does not cover all disaster expenses, residents may be eligible for federal assistance.

If someone has already applied for FEMA assistance and is seeking information or guidance, they should bring:

For those visiting the DRC in person, please bring all necessary documentation to help streamline the application process.

For more information on eligibility requirements, visit fema.gov/assistance/individual/program/eligibility.

To find additional DRC locations, use the FEMA Disaster Recovery Center Locator: DRC Locator.

Copyright 2024 WTOC. All rights reserved.

"There was no time for anyone to get off," said Icy White, who watched from about 30 feet away at the ferry dock on Sapelo Island.

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SAVANNAH, GA — The metal gangway where dozens of people waited to board a ferry boat made a loud, creaking noise before snapping in the middle amid panicked cries from those sent plunging into the water. Some clung desperately to the railing, while others began to float away with the tidal current.

"There was no time for anyone to get off," said Icy White, who watched from about 30 feet away at the ferry dock on Sapelo Island. "It took seconds."

White's family was among hundreds visiting the isolated Georgia barrier island Saturday for a fall festival spotlighting the history and culture of its tiny Gullah-Geechee community of Black slave descendants. The celebration gave way to tragedy when the gangway collapsed, sending seven visitors to their deaths.

White of Atlanta recorded video of the immediate aftermath on her cellphone and shared it with The Associated Press. It shows tourists and island residents jumping into action to rescue imperiled strangers and render aid to the injured in a remote location with few trained first responders initially on-site.

"There was no EMS that was there," said Darrel Jenkins, White's cousin. "We were the EMS."

Find out what's happening in Savannahwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Largely unspoiled Sapelo Island, most of which is owned the state of Georgia, has no roads or bridges connecting it to the mainland. Residents and visitors typically rely on ferries operated by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to make the 7-mile (11-kilometer) trip.

Natural Resources Commissioner Walter Rabon told a news conference Sunday an estimated 700 visitors showed up for the Cultural Day event hosted by residents of Hogg Hummock, a tiny enclave founded after the Civil War by slaves who had worked the island plantation of Thomas Spalding.

Rabon said his agency had 40 staff members working on the island during one of its busiest days of the year. The U.S. Coast Guard and local sheriff's and fire departments later joined search and rescue efforts with boats and helicopters. But Rabon praised civilian bystanders for their efforts immediately after the collapse sent about 20 people into the water.

"Their quick response and action saved additional lives," Rabon said.

White's video shows people clinging to metal railing on the broken gangway, dangling at a steep angle into the water. Some holding on at the bottom are partly submerged, while those closer to the top extend hands trying to reach and pull them up. Others pass orange life preservers to those at the bottom.

At least a dozen people floating in the water can be seen drifting away from the dock, pulled by a strong tidal current that threatened to drag them out to sea. Still recording on her phone, White runs into a dockside parking lot shouting for others to come help.

"Who can help? Who can swim? Please, help! Help! Help!" she calls out. "The bridge fell! It fell! Please help! People are in the water!"

Word of the unfolding disaster soon reached the festival site where Hogg Hummock residents mingled with visitors as they sampled island foods like smoked mullet and gumbo and took in demonstrations on crafting fishing nets and quilts.

Island resident Jazz Watts said he arrived at the dock to find rescuers pulling people from the water and trying to administer CPR and first aid. JR Grovner loaded an injured woman into a pickup truck and drove her to an overgrown field pocked with holes dug by wild hogs being used for helicopter evacuations.

Reginald Hall said he charged into the water and was handed a young child to pass along to others forming a human chain 60 yards (55 meters) to the shore. Bodies pulled from the water were covered with blankets.

"It was chaotic. It was horrible," said Hall, who has a home on the island.

Rabon said an accident reconstruction team, working with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, was working to determine what caused a "catastrophic failure" at the state-operated dock, which had been rebuilt in 2021. The Department of Natural Resources said it was last inspected in December.

Hogg Hummock is among a shrinking cluster of small Southern communities descended from enslaved island populations known as Gullah, or Geechee in Georgia. Scholars say residents retain much of their African heritage — including a unique dialect and skills such as cast-net fishing and basket weaving — because of their separation from the mainland.

Hogg Hummock, also known as Hog Hammock, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

But the community's population has been shrinking for decades, and some families have sold their land to outsiders for vacation homes. Last year, county commissioners approved zoning changes that doubled the size of homes allowed in Hogg Hummock. That raised fears among residents that larger homes could spur tax increases that could force them to sell land their families have held for generations.

Sapelo Island residents sued McIntosh County and the state of Georgia in federal court in 2015, arguing they lacked basic services including resources for handling medical emergencies.

State officials rebuilt the ferry dock in 2021 as part of a legal settlement. Residents reached a settlement the following year with McIntosh County, which agreed to build a helicopter pad on the island for emergency evacuations. Grovner, Hall and Watts all said that still hasn't happened.

Watts said that a private healthcare provider had planned to open a clinic in a county-owned building long used as a community center. But the deal fell through when commissioners opted to lease the space for a restaurant.

"It's obvious that the local officials aren't doing everything they need to be doing," Watts said. "Those things would have absolutely helped because every second matters."

Patrick Zoucks, the county manager, did not immediately respond to an email message seeking comment.

___

By RUSS BYNUM and EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press. Wagster Pettus reported from Jackson, Mississippi.

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SAVANNAH, Ga. − Engineers and other experts were working Monday to determine what caused the "catastrophic failure” on a gangway that collapsed into the water at a ferry dock on a barrier island, killing seven people on Sapelo Island’s annual Cultural Day.

The harrowing events unfolded late Saturday as visitors were leaving the celebration. Walter Rabon, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, which operates the ferries and dock, said about 20 people fell into the water. Up to 40 could have been on the gangway at the time of the failure, he said.

Rabon credited bystanders for "their quick response and action saved additional lives." In the ensuing hours, Coast Guard helicopters and boats equipped with sonar conducted search-and-rescue operations.

About 700 people traveled to and from the island Saturday, about seven-times the normal traffic on the ferries that connect the island to the mainland. Asked if heavy use of the gangway could have contributed to the collapse, Rabon said it was "possible that extra stress” was a factor.

“Look, I'm sure anything that's manmade has limits,” Rabon said at a briefing Sunday. “I don't know what that is (for the gangway). I'm told that it should have carried the capacity that was there."

Sapelo Island, about 60 miles south of Savannah, is only reachable by boat. The state-run ferry between Meridian and the island takes about 20 minutes. The dock and gangway were constructed in 2021, Rabon said. His agency's Critical Incident Reconstruction Team and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation are investigating what caused the "catastrophic failure" of the gangway, he said.

Deadly Georgia dock collapse:Incident blamed on unknown 'catastrophic failure'

Festival-goer stunned by tragedy

Jamie Arkins of Savannah made her first visit to Sapelo on Saturday for the festival. She was excited to see no one had their phones out and everyone was just enjoying the beautiful day, the color festival and each other.

“I plopped my chair in the middle of it and just took in the sights and the sounds, the smells, the conversations,” she said Sunday. She left for the mainland on a ferry at about 3 p.m., about an hour before disaster struck.

She noticed the water was moving swiftly under the gangway, and that a lot of people still needed to get off the island on the last round of ferries. She learned of the tragedy after returning to Savannah.

"It was the most perfect day – checking off a bucket list item, experiencing who this community is, to understand who they are, to try to help (because) they're at risk," she said. "And then to learn of this, (it) was like rubbing salt into a wound."

Sapelo residents descended from slave trade

No residents of the island were among the fatalities, Rabon said. The island is home to about 70 full-time residents of the Hog Hammock community, the only intact, documented community of Saltwater Geechee left in the world. They are part of the Gullah Geechee, direct descendants of West Africans brought over as slaves for their expertise in rice and indigo cultivation.

The Gullah and Geechee remain on coastlines and barrier islands running from North Carolina to Florida − but their future is imperiled despite the congressionally designated Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor.

Their forefathers and descendants have been on this land for nearly 300 years starting as slaves on the plantations. The plantations, stretching from Charleston, South Carolina, to Jacksonville, Florida, were confiscated by the Union Army during and after the Civil War. Union Gen. William Sherman and Savannah's Black preachers planned to distribute the land as a form of reparations to freed people in 40-acre plots, according to Special Field Order No. 15.

Within a year, President Andrew Johnson abandoned the order and returned much of the land to the former plantation owners.

Tourism, rising seas threaten communities

Amid the rise in tourism and development along the Southeast coast, the Gullah Geechee face challenges from the "come heres,” or outsiders, who want to develop their ancestral lands, They also face the looming menace of sea-level rise, which threatens to submerge the barrier islands and displace millions of people.

Contributing: Zoe Nicholson

Celebrate Giving Tuesday all season long by donating, volunteering and spreading the word about these amazing local organizations.

Patch Holiday, Patch Staff

Giving Tuesday is a global movement that encourages people to give back to their communities, typically through charitable donations, volunteer work or acts of kindness. It takes place annually on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving in the U.S., right after Black Friday and Cyber Monday. While it's celebrated widely, the real impact happens when we do good right at home by supporting local businesses, causes and organizations working to uplift our own communities.

We've rounded up a list of some great organizations, causes and initiatives in the Savannah area. Please keep in mind, this is by no means an exhaustive list — just a starting point for discovering amazing local opportunities to give back, not only on Giving Tuesday but year-round! Be sure to contact each organization directly to find out about their hours or the best ways you can contribute.

P.A.C.K. is a nonprofit organization committed to meeting the basic needs of children in Coastal Georgia, providing essential services to address food insecurity. Through a network of volunteers, it distributes over 4,700 weekend meal bags each week to children at local schools and community centers. It also offers support through programs like the P.A.C.K. Cottage and P.A.C.K. Boutique for children in foster care.Learn more: packsavannah.com

The Lions Club of Savannah supports community well-being by addressing humanitarian needs and promoting understanding, with a special focus on assisting the blind and visually impaired. Through programs like Project Vision, eyeglass recycling and partnerships with organizations such as the Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation, the club works to improve the lives of individuals in need while promoting a spirit of service.Learn more: lionsclubofsavannah.com

Since 1982, the Savannah Tree Foundation has strived to preserve Chatham County's urban forest through tree planting, community engagement and advocacy for sustainable practices. By organizing tree-planting initiatives, educational outreach and conservation efforts, the foundation works to promote biodiversity and improve environmental health in the area.Learn more: savannahtree.org

Find out what's happening in Savannahwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The local nonprofit Step Up Savannah promotes economic inclusion and financial security in Chatham County. Through workforce development, advocacy and community engagement, the organization empowers low-income residents by creating pathways to opportunity and enabling sustainable growth, all while honoring the diverse experiences and perspectives within the community.Learn more: stepupsavannah.org

Savannah Wildlife Rescue Center (SWRC) is an organization dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating native wildlife, specifically small mammals. The nonprofit also prioritizes wildlife education and offers volunteer and internship opportunities for individuals to help maintain a safe and clean environment for animals in recovery.Learn more: savwild.com

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