It’s the second week for our new newsletter Coast Watch, designed to bring you unique facts and highlight threats facing human and natural habitats along our 100-mile coastline. If you have feedback, questions, concerns, or just like what you see, let us know at thecurrentga@gmail.com.

STORM SEASON GETS REAL

Tropical Storm Danny rolled over Savannah this week, making landfall north of the Georgia-South Carolina border and signaling the meat of a hurricane season that NOAA predicts will be above-average. But as Southerly reports, a lot of people – particularly low-income Gulf Coast residents – are still trying to pick up the pieces from last year’s disastrous hurricane season. Still cash-strapped from trying to recover from Hurricane Harvey in 2017, Imelda in 2019 and Laura and Delta in 2020, not to mention Winter Storm Uri and recent flash flooding, residents can’t afford the food, water, medication, storm shutters, generators and other equipment emergency managers recommend gathering before hurricane season. And with little to no federal or state funding available to address this need, individual households and advocacy groups are left to make do, trying to prepare low-income neighborhoods for disaster while still trying to rebuild from past ones. 

JOIN THE HURRICANE REGISTRY 

If you live in Bryan, Camden, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, Liberty, Long or McIntosh counties and have functional/access or medical needs, join the Hurricane Registry now, BEFORE a storm threatens our area. The Hurricane Registry is a list of residents who may need transportation or medical assistance during a storm, and have no family members, neighbors or friends that can help them evacuate. The list is maintained by health departments in the Coastal Health District and residents must apply to be on the registry. If you or someone you know meet the criteria, your names will be put on the registry and evacuated when there is a serious threat of a hurricane. If you have a neighbor or family member who may qualify, it’s a good time to help them sign up. For more information, see the Coastal Health District Hurricane Registry Resources page. 

REINVENTING TOWNS, SAVING LIVES

This hurricane season could be just a glimpse into what will continue to come as climate change makes severe storms more frequent and more intense. Towns and counties will have to prepare and create strategies to manage the risks and potential damage that could come, and one proposed strategy? Managed retreat, the intentional movement of people, buildings and infrastructure away from hazards like climate-induced storms. Managed retreat can look like a lot of different things, like turning coastal city streets into canals, purchasing and demolishing flood-prone areas to create stormwater parks, or building dense affordable housing designed to stay cool. But managed retreat isn’t without its challenges or controversies: Moving can lead to financial and emotional stress, potential loss of community, or the loss of rich history or family ties. In this article, A.R. Siders and Katharine Mach argue that even if a town decides not to retreat, it’s important to think and talk about managed retreat, and what risks an area is willing to face in order to stay. 

BEACH ADVISORIES: As of this writing, there are no current advisories for Georgia beaches. Check the link before you head out so you’ll know where to go and stay safe.

ELECTRIC VEHICLES AT A CROSSROADS 

As environmentalists, public health officials, car manufacturers and electric vehicle-aficionados try to push for an electric vehicle revolution in Georgia, the progress is at a crossroads. While the state is home to SK Innovation, a plant that will make batteries for Ford and Volkswagen electric models and create 1,000 jobs by the end of 2021, electric vehicles only make up a little more than 1% of all newly registered automobiles in the state, and that percentage has been steady the last three years. And while the state was once in the lead for newly registered vehicles, it now ranks 10th in the country for the number of vehicles on the roadway. This slow progress could be due to the 2015 decision that ended a $5,000 tax break and created a fee for electric vehicles that is set at nearly $214 this year. State Rep. Chuck Martin, an Alpharetta Republican, said he thinks the fee is too high and would support a revamped incentive if it were smaller and helped people into a range of models. Martin also pushed a proposal this year that would allow more electric vehicle manufacturers to move into the state and sell directly to consumers. 

PLANT VOGTLE PROJECT GETS SCRUTINY

The managers of the Plant Vogtle nuclear expansion project near Augusta took their $670 million spending request to the Georgia Public Service Commission Thursday, just days after federal nuclear regulators started a review of electrical cable systems at the plant. But what took front and center at the virtual meeting were complaints that mismanagement has delayed the decade-old project. The setback could increase costs by $2 billion, resulting in a final price tag of $28 billion. The expansion was initially projected to start delivering electricity in 2017, and cost a total of $14 billion. The question now is how much of the construction costs will ratepayers have to absorb. 

SHIP WATCH: What’s arriving and when. This week’s lineup includes the COSCO FORTUNE, arriving on July 3. It’s around 1,202 feet long and 158.5 feet wide, and it carries 13,092 TEUs, aka containers, according to VesselTracker.com.

Experts say ‘managed retreat’ can reinvent towns while protecting lives

Flooding, drought, stronger storms are hallmarks of climate change. Small adaptations for infrastructure and technology can reduce the damage to communities.

‘Electric vehicle revolution’ in Georgia arrives at crossroads

Once a leading state for newly registered electric vehicles, Georgia now ranks 10th in the country for the number of electric vehicles on the roadway.

PSC, federal inspectors grill Georgia Power, Southern Company over Vogtle delays

The setback could inflate the costs by another $2 billion, raising the latest final price tag to $28 billion for a nuclear expansion initially projected to start delivering electricity in 2017 at a cost of $14 billion. So far, utility customers have been paying Vogtle’s financing costs, leaving state regulators to determine how much of the construction costs to add to ratepayers’ […]

Ship Watch

This week’s scheduled vessels for Georgia Ports Authority.

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Susan Catron is managing editor for The Current GA. She is based in Coastal Georgia and has more than two decades of experience in Georgia newspapers. Contact her at susan.catron@thecurrentga.org Susan...