PROJECT ALERT NOTICE (GA NC SC) SAWSC Awaits Passage of Hurricane Dorian

Date: Thu, 05 Sep 2019 12:48:38 EDT

Summary: USGS South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC) awaits as Hurricane Dorian passes the Carolinas

Event Information:
The USGS South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC) comprises the states of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. All three are engaged in activities in preparation for Hurricane Dorian. Dorian is off the coast of South Carolina as a strong Category 2 storm. Strong winds and heavy rainfall along the coasts of North and South Carolina continue. Impacts along the Georgia coast were minimum given the timing of the storm with low tide and most of the rain offshore.

By state:

North Carolina: USGS completed deploying rapid-deployment gages (RDGs) and storm surge sensors today under a FEMA mission assignment. All employees returned home yesterday. As of this report, ten (10) RDGs and fifty-eight (58) water-level sensors and 27 wave sensors have been installed so far.

South Carolina: USGS completed deploying yesterday all sensors and RDGs under the FEMA mission assignment. All other persons have returned home. As of this report, nine (9) RDGs and sixty-nine (69) storm-tide sensors have been installed. Evacuation of eight (8) coastal counties is ongoing. The Charleston office is closed again today.

Georgia: USGS personnel completed deployment of fifty-five (55) storm surge sensors and twelve (12) RDGs along the Georgia coast as of noon Sunday. Nine (9) two-person crews are traveling today to areas outside of the affected zones and will begin sensor recovery first thing on Friday morning as conditions allow. The six (6) coastal counties of Georgia are under mandatory evacuation from I-95 east to the coast. The Savannah office is closed again today.

Total deployment numbers for SAWSC:
RDGs = 31 RDGs
Storm Tide Sensors = 182 storm-tide/27 wave sensors

Other information:

Dorian Flood Event Viewer URL: https://stn.wim.usgs.gov/fev/#2019HurricaneDorian

Dorian real-time dashboard:
https://webapps.usgs.gov/dorian/

SAWSC field personnel continue to perform a number of media interviews.

USGS drone teams are heading towards the SAWSC-Columbia offices today.