Valdosta residents react to Hurricane Idalia’s damage

VALDOSTA, Ga. (WALB) - On Wednesday night, the effects of Hurricane Idalia are still painfully evident. Trees are down, power is out and neighbors are helping neighbors to pull debris off of homes.

WALB crews saw fallen trees on top of powerlines and houses, making parts of the city dangerous for many residents.

Gloria and Keith Tillman live in Valdosta but left their home for a bit during the storm. They eventually came back after getting an alarming call from their neighbor.

“My neighbor across the street called and said ‘Keith, your tree is down.’ Which was next to my other neighbor’s, and it caught the corner of her house. We don’t know how bad it is,” said Gloria Tillman, a Valdosta Resident.

Easton Warren is the Tillman’s neighbor. He says he was standing at his front door when he noticed his neighbor’s tree starting to fall.

“And it landed right on top of our house. It didn’t do any damage to our house, but it landed on my room in the back of the house. And we were going to check if everything was okay back there and if it had poked through the roof and everything. It was pretty scary for me, ‘cause I didn’t know if I was going to have the room after that,” said Easton Warren, a Valdosta Resident.

The Tillmans say the storm was so bad that it caused another tree in their yard to uproot, making them unsure whether or not it’s safe to stay in their home for the night.

“We’ve already called 911, caller an inspector just to see, you know, how far-rooted it is. ‘Cause it’s already rooted up, and it’s still swaying. So we’re just waiting for somebody to come out to tell us what’s the best decision before we get the tree people or whoever out here,” said Tillman.

“We have trees down throughout the county, power lines down throughout the county. Our message right now is encouraging folks to please continue to stay off of the roadways to allow us to get that debris and stuff off of our roadways. Those power lines could still be active,” said Meghan Barwick Public Information Officer for Lowndes County.

As of Wednesday night, over 90% of the county is still without power, according to EMA.

WALB even spoke with several residents who say that they don’t have water either. It is currently unclear when either will be restored.

For more coverage of storm impacts in Valdosta, click here.

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