2 weeks after Helene, storm recovery continues across CSRA

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – It’s been two weeks now since Helene blew through our area and changed life as we know it.

14 days in, and it seems we’re getting better at adapting.

Some communities have recovered quickly from the damage, while others look like the storm just came through the other day.

If you drive around the CSRA, you’ll see what Hurricane Helene left behind.

Debris, downed power lines and even smashed cars. But several people say the scene looks a lot different than it did the day of the storm.

For many, instead of trees, it’s a tarp.

Roads that were blocked before are at least drivable.

Charles Bailey lives in North Augusta and says he and his wife are just trying to get back to normal.

“We’re starting to get groceries back in our refrigerator and freezer, and we’re just doing the cleanup of all the debris that’s left from the trees,” said Bailey.

But sounds he typically didn’t hear before have become all too familiar.

“Backing up, the beeping. Then, there’s gonna be a lot of chainsaws going for a while. It’s gonna be, like, humming to your ears,” he said.

He says normal for him is get the debris cleaned up.

“This is not normal. I mean, this is extraordinarily devastating. And to live with it. You just don’t want to live with it as long as possible,” said Bailey.

North Augusta says next week they will shift more towards clean-up.

Mayor Briton Williams says the debris left behind from power lines will be cleaned up by Dominion Energy.

For others in Augusta, they say they haven’t found their normal yet.

“I’m wondering how a lot of us are going to be able to put all of the pieces back together, being that we can barely go through the streets,” said Augusta resident Barbara Drane-Ealey.

Although the progress is slower than some may want, it’s still happening.

Richmond County started with nearly 94,000 outages, and Georgia Power now only shows 55.

“I think everybody is doing their best as far as circumstances go,” said Drane-Ealey.

North Augusta started with more than 14,000 outages and now has five homes without power.

Richmond County also says they are ramping up the amount of debris clean-up trucks every day.

But several say they know this will be a slow process and many areas may never look the same.

Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.