‘We dodged it.’ Houston County escapes the brunt of Hurricane Helene, officials say

Warner Robins and Houston County braced for the worst from Hurricane Helene but escaped the brunt of the storm, officials said.

“All the things that we were preparing for did not occur, so that’s great news,” Warner Robins Mayor LaRhonda W. Patrick posted on Facebook early Friday. “The prayers worked, so we are blessed not to have to deal with a lot of destruction like some of our neighbors.”

Patrick, who stayed overnight at an Emergency Command Center set up at city hall, is expected to rescind the city’s state of emergency after ensuring tropical winds have subsided.

“We dodged it,” said Chris Stoner, director of the Houston County Emergency Management Agency. “We postured for the worst-case scenario and just blessed that, that didn’t come to fruition.”

The National Weather Service had projected unprecedented winds and flooding. However, the county did experience wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour, downed trees, power outages, flash flooding and road closures during the height of the storm.

As of 3:35 p.m. Friday, 320 Flint Energies customers remained without power in Houston County, a spokeswoman said. Most of the outages are in the Terrell Street area of Warner Robins, while the rest are scattered throughout the county. Power is expected to be restored by the day’s end.

The hurricane threat resulted in school closures, restaurants and businesses closing early, sandbags being passed out, and shelters opening.

Helene shifted a little bit from its projected course.

“It was forecasted to almost follow 75 coming north out of Florida,” Stoner said. “And it turned and kind of went through a line of Valdosta to Dublin and out that direction.”

A wind advisory remained in effect until 9 p.m. Friday.

This story was originally published September 27, 2024 at 12:45 PM.