Shrimpers in McIntosh County explain how they prepare for hurricane season

DARIEN, Ga. (WTOC) - This first week of May is Hurricane Preparedness Week.

McIntosh County faces many unique challenges in order to prepare for hurricane season, mainly due to the fact that it’s home to many in the shrimping industry.

Wynn Gale, a long-time shrimper, is no stranger to preparing for storms.

“I rode out on the boat itself, and the water was this deep on the dock. There was water everywhere, you couldn’t see nothing,” Wynn Gale, Shrimper said.

Gale took a video while Hurricane Irma passed through in 2017, leaving the shrimping dock on the Darien coast completely submerged.

While the hurricane didn’t make a direct hit to Georgia’s coast, the flooding and high winds still caused damage.

“We had a little bit of wind. It got a little rocky, the wind blowing against the waves and stuff made it rough,” Gale said.

McIntosh County EMA Director Ty Poppell says Darien hasn’t experienced a direct hit from a hurricane in more than 100 years.

“We’ve had brush-bys. Everybody says ‘oh we got through this hurricane okay, we got through that hurricane okay, we haven’t had an actual direct hit. If we have one it would be a disaster for this area,” Ty Poppell, McIntosh County Ema Director said.

“Make plans as far as evacuation. Plans for yourself, plans for your pets, plans for your house when you leave it. It’s all a big challenge,” Poppell said.

As for shrimpers like Gale they take their boats upstream.

“We don’t go upriver unless we’re getting a direct hit. Then we go as far as we can upstream,” Gale said.

Or stay put.

“The last two I tied right here, this is where I stayed. But, that was a glancing blow, it wasn’t a direct hit,” Gale said.

A direct hit something McIntosh County and its shrimpers have escaped the past few years.

Something else that’s important to prepare for hurricane season is insurance.

Poppell says to be sure you understand your homeowner’s insurance policy before the season begins.

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