St. Patrick's Day revelry blacked out in Savannah, Ga.
Storms cut power during weekend celebrations
SAVANNAH, Ga. - Savannah's weekend St. Patrick's Day celebration turned from emerald green to pitch black as the city lost power, plunging the downtown party into darkness as thousands roamed the streets.
The only lights late Saturday in the city's historic district were flashing atop police cars as officers directed traffic amid throngs of revelers ambling through streets littered with plastic cups and party debris.
"It's just people wandering around in the dark, man," said Danielle Smith, 23, looking for friends amid the confusion near the city's riverfront. "This is crazy!"
The blackout hit at about 10 p.m. as powerful thunderstorms tore through southern Georgia and South Carolina just north of Savannah.
Lights in the city started coming back on about 1 a.m. yesterday, and power was restored to all but 390 customers in the coastal area by the afternoon, officials said.
National Weather Service officials visited two Georgia counties yesterday to determine whether a wave of storm damage this weekend was caused by a tornado or straight-line winds.
Two people in rural northwest Georgia were killed and dozens injured after a series of severe storms moved through the state, producing what was believed to be the first tornado to hit downtown Atlanta.
A woman was killed in Polk County on Saturday when a storm demolished her home and threw her and her husband into a field, while an elderly man in neighboring Floyd County was killed by flying debris as he sat in his home. Officials have not released the victims' names.
During the Savannah storm, a few nightspots kept pouring drinks, with bartenders tallying customer's bar tabs with flashlights, as patrons huddled around tables lit by candles. Smith managed to buy a cold beer for $2.50 at one darkened watering hole.
Police closed the riverfront bars by 11:30 p.m. and the lingering street party began dispersing an hour later as it began to rain. Savannah Fire Captain Matthew Stanley said a couple of street robberies were reported downtown, but no major incidents.
"Everything's still very calm," Stanley said. "Everybody's just kind of wandering around aimlessly."
Steve Gaskell and his friends had just stepped off the elevator at their hotel when the power went out.
They sat on a park bench near the riverfront, sipped beer, and readied their video camera in case anything crazy happened.
"We were expecting mayhem, but there isn't much," Gaskell said. "We walked past a jewelry store and I figured the alarm was off and windows would be broken. But so far so good, I guess."
