Hurricane Helen moves through county, leaving one dead (2024)

MOULTRIE — Colquitt County came through Hurricane Helene with less physical damage than many of its neighbors, but the storm took the life of a Moultrie resident.

Caleb Meister, 35, of Moultrie, was driving west on Fifth Avenue about 3 a.m. Friday and struck a downed tree at the 200 block of Fifth Avenue Southeast, which had obstructed the road. After impact, the vehicle proceeded through the downed tree, traveling approximately 136 feet before coming to rest on the shoulder of the road, according to the Georgia State Patrol.

“Due to the storm, there was a tree that had fallen,” said Deputy Coroner Kevin Wimberly. He said it was raining at the time and he didn’t think Meister saw the tree.

Meister was pronounced dead at the scene, due to the injuries he sustained in the accident, said Wimberly.

As the hurricane blasted its way through Colquitt County late Thursday night and into early Friday morning, it left many trees down — some of them dangerously across power lines.

According to Emergency Management Director Justin Cox, the last eastern shift of the hurricane saved Colquitt County from a way worse outcome.

“Hurricane Helene did a number on our neighbors east and northeast of us and managed to affect Colquitt County, but not near as bad as we were preparing for,” Cox said.

County Administrator Chas Cannon also attributed the hurricane’s shift to escaping some of devastating impacts that Lowndes, Cook and Berrien counties are facing.

“So what we are seeing just 40-50 miles to our east could have happened here,” he said and added that it could have been much worse here.

Cox said that the east side of the county, specifically from Berlin up to Ellenton, was hit the hardest and that both Berlin and Norman Park lost 100% of the power grid and had no water for 24-48 hours.

“Thankfully Georgia Power and Colquitt EMC got them back up as soon as they could safely do so,” he added.

He also said that Colquitt County had around 500 trees down in right-of-ways and started with around 15 roads closed. As of noon, Tuesday, that number was down to four.

“We had around 15 homes damaged but, so far, none are considered destroyed,” Cox said.

Cannon noted that there were also row crop farmers who will lose some cotton, corn, and peanuts and some pecans and timber, as well.

Sustained winds were observed at the airport at 41 mph and gusts were recorded at 54 mph, Cox said, but that could have varied widely throughout the county and as the western eye-wall appeared to have passed over Moultrie, winds east of it could have been much stronger.

The American Red Cross shelter at Spence Field opened at 8 a.m. Thursday and stayed open until around 11 a.m. Friday, Cox said.

“They had around 70 people seek shelter to ride out the storm. Red Cross staff said it was a success and the people were very appreciative,” he added.

On Saturday morning, E-911 lines were down and calls were forwarded to dispatchers' cell phones, according to a Facebook post from the Colquitt County Board of Commissioners. By late afternoon, there were two temporary phone lines up and running until late Sunday afternoon when all of the lines were restored.

On Monday, City Manager Pete Dillard said, “Our utility department, aided by a crew from Texas, worked diligently through the weekend. Their efforts paid off, and when they went home last night, power was restored and made available to all City of Moultrie utility customers. Today, our linemen are working with local electricians, who need to make repairs so that power can be connected to their customers.”

He also said that the Public Works Department has cleared all streets, and the Solid Waste Department is picking up debris piled at the curb by homeowners. All City departments are operational.

“We appreciate everyone's patience and support,” Dillard said.

Cannon said, “We are doing what we can to assist with the counties east of us. They will have a very long recovery period. I want to thank our local utility companies and our public safety, public works, and EMA folks for all of their hard work during the last several days. Our community appreciates their efforts more than you know.”

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Hurricane Helen moves through county, leaving one dead (2024)

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