Daniel Island is largely spared Hurricane Matthew's wrath

As predicted, Hurricane Matthew descended on the South Carolina coast last Friday and Saturday with powerful winds, soaking rains and dangerous storm surges. But thankfully, most of Daniel Island suffered only minor damage from the hurricane’s assault on the state.

By the time the worst was over on Saturday morning, Daniel Islanders emerged to find dozens of fallen trees, debris in yards and public areas, and swollen ponds, wetlands and creeks.

“Daniel Island fared very well during Hurricane Matthew,” said Jane Baker, vice president of community services for the Daniel Island Property Owners Association. “To our knowledge, Daniel Island never lost power, had minimal standing water at a couple of locations, three sewage overflows that were addressed immediately by Charleston Water Systems and only suffered some tree loss.”

The POA’s field operations team, The Greenery and subcontractors, as well as the City of Charleston will continue clean-up efforts for the next couple of weeks, added Baker.

“We ask residents to be patient as we work to bring the island back up to our normal standards,” she said. “All in all, we consider ourselves incredibly lucky compared to other areas of the Lowcountry, the State and the Southeast.”

Did you stay or did you go?

The question on the minds of most Daniel Island residents last week was whether or not to heed Governor Nikki Haley’s mandatory evacuation order, which officially began Wednesday, October 5, at 3 p.m. for all coastal areas. Berkeley County Supervisor Bill Peagler sent out an urgent plea to the Daniel Island community Thursday evening, asking all residents still on the island to leave immediately. Gov. Haley followed up that announcement during a statewide press conference on Friday with a direct appeal for Daniel Islanders to follow evacuation orders. In a survey conducted by The Daniel Island News, it appears most took her words to heart and left their homes for places farther inland. Of the 138 respondents to the survey, nearly 72 percent said they did evacuate, while about 28 percent said they chose to ride out the storm at home.

Of those who left, the majority sought refuge in Charlotte, Columbia, Greenville, and Atlanta. Also included in evacuation destinations were Chapin, Asheville, and Augusta, as well as cities in Tennessee and New Jersey. Most spent their retreat from the island with family and friends, while those in hotels chatted with other evacuees they met during their stays. Many stayed glued to The Weather Channel and social media to stay up to date on conditions back at home.

Gauging storm experiences

More than 120 respondents commented on their experiences throughout the storm. Below are just a few of the individual responses received:

“Nikki Haley handled the situation perfectly,” stated Jennifer Carrigan. “We were very fortunate with Hurricane Matthew, but realize with just a few small shifts it could have been a major disaster. “

“We spoke to several neighbors that we’d never spoken to before and the community spirit was definitely very (positive),” noted Alan Eager, who lives in the Shell Ring neighborhood. “Postings on our Facebook page helped with people out of town asking about services and conditions and some neighbors going around helping such as turning off gas lanterns and moving basketball hoops out of the way.”

“As several of our neighbors stayed as well we all kept in touch,” responded Bill Thielfoldt, a Daniel Island Park resident. “We all had each other’s back if needed! It was heartwarming to feel the community concern!”

“We were so happy that we never lost power or cable,” said a survey participant who identified herself as ‘Jodie.’ “We heard on TV, all the hype of please leave DI and DI was one place that held up with no big issues. We live on a tidal creek and had no issues.”

“I saw so much kindness through this all,” stated Cartwright Street resident Erin Grimm. “I saw neighbors driving all around taking pictures and videos to send to friends or neighbors who evacuated - I saw people cutting down trees that fell, neighbors cleaning debris up for others.”

“Loved fact that the apartments opened up their garage to community,” noted Shannon Praete. “Social media was a huge help in notifying people of firsthand knowledge of what was ongoing and damage on island.”

“We are glad we stayed,” responded Amira Cranor. “We were able to contain the damage to our house. We also became the contact person for neighbors who evacuated. We checked on many homes, sent them pics to assure them, and kept in constant contact.”

“Scary, but the really cool thing is that Daniel Island is pretty robust,” said Bill Bates, who resides on Gibbon Street. “All that rain and no flooding. Thanks to the good people who designed and built the storm drainage system.”

“I know that the government, law enforcement, and other emergency personnel usually have good intentions--i.e. to keep everyone safe--but I truly felt that this whole evacuation debacle was over-dramatized,” stated a respondent who wished to remain anonymous. “What has scared me more than the storm is people’s unwillingness and/or inability to think for themselves in times of chaos. It’s indicative of a more sinister societal trend.”

“I learned that Daniel Island is a very well planned community that I am very proud to live in,” added Grimm. “We never lost power, (and didn’t lose) anything...I felt very protected and safe. The worst part of it all was the overkill of social media dramatizing this into more like a nuclear war or cat 5 hurricane - the stories that were going around were crazy.”

“The Lord blessed us, and most of the Charleston area, in avoiding major damage to our homes and community,” said Charles Maraziti, who evacuated to Charlotte. “A disaster such as this brings people together and we should use this opportunity to help those who were less fortunate to recover from the hurricane. We held a ‘Good Bye to Matthew’ party last night with friends from the neighborhood.”

“Letters from the County warning of a nine foot surge passing over Daniel Island was not supported by data and was ill conceived,” noted John Gilsenan, a Smythe Park resident. “Avoid local emotional opinions and stick to what the data tells you is true. We also learned that staying provided a real respite from the... pressures of everyday life and an opportunity to smell the roses of idle and warm conversation with family and neighbors since no one had to be anywhere for a while.”

“At first I thought our Governor jumped the gun by announcing evacuation so early,” stated an anonymous respondent who rode out the storm in Asheville. “Now I appreciate that her timing made the traffic spread out over several days.”

“Daniel Island’s drainage system is excellent, and its buried power grid is very robust,” said Brad Reed.

“We came to realize that anything could happen and we are thankful for the ongoing electrical power and sources of information,” responded Ann and Bill Stevens.

“The anxiety of go not go was exhausting,” added Allison Geist.

“We took a bad situation and turned it into an adventure,” stated Smythe Park residents Catherine and Allan Briggs. “We followed the old saying: ‘When life gives you lemons...make lemonade!’”

Others noted in their responses that they were thankful to certain Daniel Island businesses for accommodating customers during the storm preparations. One respondent specifically recognized Blondies and Publix for staying open “beyond when they had to.” In addition, SunTrust Bank announced on Monday that the Daniel Island branch, along with other locations, would serve as a drop-off/collection site for monetary donations to the American Red Cross on behalf of storm victims.

In the end, despite traffic snarl-ups on I-26 encountered by those returning to the island on Sunday, impacts from Hurricane Matthew were minimal. Many residents reported no damage at all to their homes.

So perhaps the greatest lesson from storm situations like this is to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst - because outcomes are never fully predictable. For at least one responder to The Daniel Island News survey, the decision to leave was an easy one.

“I am happy to evacuate,” noted Kelley Murray. “The safety of my family is most important. I feel like now that I have children, it is irresponsible to put their lives at risk to stay. Things were ok this time, but it could have been worse.”