According to Wakulla County Sheriff’s office, thousands were without power on Wednesday, but aside from downed trees and power lines, no one suffered any catastrophic loss. Much of the damage from Hurricane Idalia was found in the low-lying areas along the eastern parts of the County.
Stanley West is the owner of Riverside Café in St. Marks. He says his restaurant held up well during the storm, but all the rain caused the water level to rise, and St. Marks’ River flooded his bar Thursday morning.
“For us, we only got 6 inches in the restaurant, but we are probably the highest point in St. Marks,” explained West.
“Out in our parking lot, it was a foot and a half of water. We were very grateful we didn’t get anything wet kitchen wise and equipment wise. Couple more inches and we would’ve had to worry about getting repairs done.”
Returning back to normal?
The coastal county welcomed students back to school on Friday. A once vacant bridge along U.S. Highway 98, is now being used by travelers. Also, the Gulf’s waters have calmed down near St. Marks.
“I think we lost one tree, a decayed tree but that was about it as far as that goes. Just a lot of branches out in the yard,” said local resident Buddy Gaskins.
Like many others, Gaskins was told by the county to evacuate his home, but he decided to stay put throughout the storm.
“They [Wakulla Public Safety] asked are y’all going to leave? About half of us did, half of us didn’t,” explained Gaskins. “It’s just kind of inconvenient to leave you know.”
In a recent Facebook post, Wakulla County Commissioners assured residents that all county roads are now clear and free of any trees or power lines. While we do not know how soon the county will regain full power, all traffic lights will continue to run off generators in the meantime.
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