Tropical storm brings down trees in Dublin, but some residents thankful

DUBLIN, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Tropical Storm Hermine took down about one dozen trees in Dublin on Friday.

They mostly blocked roadways, but some damaged homes.

“The Lord was with me, he was with me because it could have hit that oak tree back on the other side and my bed was right under that on,” Kate Barfoot said. She lives on Earlwood Drive. A tree fell from her front yard Friday morning, landing in her driveway and taking out a streetlight.

She wasn’t the only thankful Dublin resident. Shawn Wood, Director of Public Works said the weather was better than expected.

“I think we dodged a bullet here,” he said. “We didn’t have as many trees down as I thought we were going to have.”

The biggest tree Hermine took down in Dublin with her strong gusts of wind was on Saxon Street. Crews were cleaning it up for more than three hours.

Most of the other trees were small, but the threat was real. Lisa Trimming describes what happened at her home on Lawrence St.

“I was talking on the phone and I just heard a noise hit my house,” Trimming said. “When I peeked out the window I saw a tree right here.”

Rain reached about two and a half inches throughout the day; wind gusts were as strong as 35 miles per hour.

Wood says it’s hard to prepare for storms like Hermine other than gassing up his equipment and getting his guys ready to go.

“We communicated well today, the key to a storm like this is communication,” Wood said. “As long as you communicate everything usually runs smooth.”