We ended up not evacuating after Irma's track changed away from the Savannah, GA area, although we did have our evacuation reservations made. Ironically, if we would have evacuated, it would have been straight into Irma's path if we could have even gotten there due to all of the gas shortages.

I'm glad I stayed home even though the conditions at my house were pretty darn scary, to say the least. We had a 5-6 foot storm surge on my small island which is a little southeast of the Richmond Hill, GA city limits. "As the crow flies", I'm about 10 minutes from the Atlantic Ocean, but lots and lots of marsh and a little land act as a buffer before you get to my house on the Ogeechee River. We had 6 inches of rain with tropical force winds that weren't bad at all. We've seen stronger winds here during a bad thunderstorm. But that surge? Wow. I've lived in this house on the Ogeechee River for the last 31 years, and I have never seen a surge like I saw from Irma. And I have never seen the marsh across the river from me 99% covered with water UNTIL Irma either.

Last October when Hurricane Matthew passed by my house, the water from the Ogeechee never even got into my backyard (on the river) except a very small patch on the lower right corner of my property which slants lower, and that was only for a 10x10 foot area. Irma was another animal all together. She took my neighbors dock completely apart with a forceful whoosh, and his dock was gone baby gone and so were some other docks not too far from me. Some neighbors got water in their homes. Fortunately I have a high lot, or the same thing would have happened to me.

Edit to say that I lost power for about 30 hours.