Hurricane Hanna: What a Direct Hit on Savannah, Georgia, Would Mean

Hurricane Hanna is still approaching the southeast coast of the United States, but current projections suggest that Savannah will be spared a direct hit., according to NOAA. Hurricane Hanna will brush by Savannah and land on the South Carolina or North Carolina coastline late Friday or early Saturday. Hurricane Ike is tugging on Hanna's skirts and presents the next danger to Savannah and the surrounding coast.

Here in Savannah, no one is taking chances. The local Home Depot and Ace Hardware have been doing a steady business of selling plywood and generators. Grocery stores load palette after palette of bottled water near the front doors to remind shoppers to stock up. Grocery carts are filled with the essentials: canned food, toilet paper, and batteries. This is my family's second hurricane season since we moved to Savannah from Canada, but it will be the first where we have to seriously contemplate evacuation. My week has been spent buying plywood, measuring up windows, and stocking up on kerosene.

Savannah hasn't had a hurricane evacuation since Hurricane Hugo in 1989, which brushed by and hit Charleston like a freight train. Savannah hasn't had a direct hurricane hit since 1898, when Hurricane 7 landed with 110 mph winds and caused extensive coastal flooding and death. Many residents in Savannah believe the myth that Savannah is somehow protected from hurricanes by nature of the shape of the coastline. A hundred year reprieve from hurricanes has fueled this belief. In reality, say weather forecasters, Savannah is as likely to be hit by a hurricane as anywhere else on the southeastern coast.