Hanna leaves behind little damage in Grand Strand

Across the Grand Strand, the good news is that Tropical Storm Hanna did not do much damage across the county.  Horry County officials finally closed the Emergency Operations Center early this morning. 

Garden City’s streets did have noticeable debris, and some flooding which is typical during a heavy storm there.  A lot of people stayed in town and rode out the storm, which didn’t produce a whole lot of damage in the county.

Edward Surma of Murrells Inlet says, “Oh, we were kind of excited, we were prepared.  We kind of thought it was going to be a little bit worse than it was, but it wasn’t that bad really, we were out here at 2:30 this morning watching the big waves come in.“

Surma and his wife Robin experienced their first tropical weather system early Saturday morning.  They’ve only lived in Murrells Inlet for 10 months, but know that it could have been much worse.

Robin says, “I can just imagine what a big one is going to be like. I was a little nervous on this one.“

The good news is that Horry County officials say they did not have to go and make an assessment because the damage was so minimal from last night’s storm.  They do say however they saw some beach erosion, such as this area right here in Garden City Beach.

Officials also noted erosion around Shore Drive near Myrtle Beach and the South Strand campgrounds.  For some visitors like Bonnie Edwards, she’s seen the worst of it through Hurricane Hugo.  She still made sure to stock up on supplies before a much weaker Hanna hit.

Edwards says, “Hanna didn’t scare me that much; I thought it was just going to wind and water, which it turned out to be.  But yes, I did get plenty of batteries and I don’t have to worry about candles, I’ve got about 21 of the big candles we’ve carried with us for entertaining purposes.“

All in all, county officials also say they heard reports of downed trees in various areas, and now that Hanna’s gone, people are back at the beach to enjoy the remaining days of summer.

Horry County officials also want to remind everyone that the county does not provide curbside pickup from the debris.  Those living in the unincorporated areas of the county are asked to take their debris waste to one of the recycling convenience centers located around your area.