Richmond Hill residents try to stay afloat amid historic flood levels

RICHMOND HILL, Ga. (WTOC) - Debby may be gone, but Bryan County residents are still dealing with the storm’s fallout.

WTOC visited parts of Richmond Hill where people have been experiencing some of the worst flooding they’ve ever seen.

Residents are doing what they can to stay afloat as floodwaters threaten their homes and safety.

Some going as far as kayaking extra sandbags to those most in need, such as people in the Richmond Place neighborhood.

”We’re just going around to different neighborhoods. If people just don’t need their sandbags, we’re collecting them and bringing them to the people that actually do need them,” said Richmond Hill resident, Fallon Prisuta.

Some homes in the neighborhood are already too late to save. Across the street, more folks are trying to make the best out of this soggy situation. Patrick Wynn and his cousin went door to door on kayaks checking on their neighbors near Camellia Street. Wynn says his home is safe for now, but not everything has come out unscathed.

”Now our sheds have about three foot of water in them, so everything in the sheds is ruined, but we’re pretty lucky cause there’s a lot of people that’s lost a lot from what we’ve seen on tv. So, pretty fortunate,” said Wynn.

Even people whose homes aren’t currently affected are still feeling the impact. Lorenzo Cooper lives near Clarktown Road—a road cut off by a stream of rapidly moving floodwater. He says the water is too high to​ drive through, so he had to call out from work.

”I’m not going to make it because I got to go down 17, so I still ain’t going to be able to make it. 17 is worse too, I heard,” said Cooper.

Flooding throughout Richmond Hill has already reached historic levels, and until rivers like the Ogeechee crest, more flooding is likely. In the meantime, community members are stuck dealing with this issue in whatever way they can.

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