Advertisement Savannah estimates nearly $10 million in damage after Matthew The cost is split evenly between damage repair and debris removal Share Shares Copy Link Copy

“When it’s all said and done, total cost to the city is going to be somewhere between 9 and 10 million dollars,” said City of Savannah spokesperson Bret Bell. Some of that coming from damage to infrastructure like pipes, lift stations, and traffic lights. Other, coming from damage to city-owned buildings. “For city buildings themselves the estimate is about 3.3 million dollars,” he said. City owned facilities like SCMPD headquarters, and the Civic Center sustained water damage. “That water intruded through the roof and got down into the floors, got down into the stage, down into the carpets and just caused a lot of damage,” said Bell. But repairs are only half the bill. “So debris removal is closer to 6 million dollars,” said Bell. FEMA will help cover up to 75 percent of the uninsured losses incurred by the city, but that doesn’t necessarily speed up the timeline for clean-up. Bell says a lot of work has already been done to get storm debris out of the way, but right now, piles of trees in Savannah, are about as common as Spanish Moss. “Yeah there’s a lot of debris out there and it’s going to take a long time,” Bell said. And it’s going to be a while before things look completely back to normal, and Bell says he hopes people can continue to be patient as they prioritize clean-up efforts. “Right now we need to get rid of the big piles so people can park on their streets and get by safely through our streets,” said Bell. But clean-up efforts are getting a boost over the next few weeks as crews work overnight in the Historic District.