In a 11:00 AM Press Conference on Monday the Governor (and others) said the following regarding the status of the Island in general:
Hilton Head
Matthew caused an “unprecedented amount of damage on Hilton Head Island,” Gov. Nikki Haley said in a news conference Monday. “Trees are down in a way we’ve never seen before.”
During a Monday afternoon news conference, town manager Steve Riley warned that some island residents could be without power for five to seven days.
Residents may be allowed to return home Tuesday, “but no promises,” he said.
An initial assessment of three-fourths of Hilton Head’s commercial properties Sunday revealed roughly 440 undamaged, 54 with some level of damage and two buildings destroyed, Riley said.
Hilton Head Hospital’s emergency room opened at noon Monday. No timeline was announced for re-opening other hospital services.
Fifteen of the island’s 23 traffic signals are operational, according to the town website.
“The south end (of the island) was particularly hard hit and struggling to recover,” Riley said.
Major arteries in Sea Pines are still being cleared so assessing properties on secondary roads is not an option, Toby McSwain, director of safety, security, and transportation at Sea Pines, said.
“I can’t even begin to tell you when we’ll start (secondary roads),” McSwain said Monday morning.
Major throughfares that are accessible include:
▪ Greenwood gate to Frasier Circle
▪ Frasier to Harbour Town
▪ Some portions of the stretch from Greenwood Drive to South Sea Pines Drive
He reported some homes weathered Matthew well, as did the Plantation Beach Club.
But others weren’t so lucky. He said he couldn’t estimate how many homes had trees fallen through or against the house.
Lagoons filled with debris are clogged and cannot flow properly, but Sea Pines is “not even close to getting around to address(ing) that.”
McSwain did get a chance to see oceanfront properties, he said, and the dunes are completely gone, “completely washed away,” he said.
Roughly 50 percent of major roads are accessible in Hilton Head Plantation, said general manager Peter Kristian.
“It’s a work in progress,” he said Monday. “Literally thousands of trees are down.”
At least a dozen homes have trees on or against them, Kristian said, but said “I’m sure that’s only a small proportion.”
One piece of good news, he said, was that he hadn’t seen any homes “completely obliterated” or portions of home debris in street or yards.
But it’s “still way too dangerous” to let people in.
He declined to let a reporter or photographer in to inspect the gated community.
Earlier flooding that made Shipyard Drive impassable has subsided, Shipyard Plantation general manager Salley Warren said, but most secondary roads are still blocked by debris.
She reported no wind damage, meaning no roofs were ripped off of homes, but there are a number of houses with tree damage.
Utility crews restored water and power to the welcome center and beach club, Warren said.
Read more here:
http://www.islandpacket.com/news/weather/hurricane/article107244162.html#storylink=cpy