Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida’s Huge Bend area as a strong Class 4 storm, impacting thousands and thousands throughout the southeastern United States. Over the past 48 hours, it has left devasting impacts within the Florida Panhandle, Georgia, and the Carolinas.
That additionally consists of Augusta, which noticed wind gusts of as much as 80 miles per hour at its native airport. First responders within the metropolis reported quite a few bushes falling on homes, automobiles, and energy strains. Flooding additionally wreaked havoc on the world, which led to a number of fatalities within the area. Practically 225,000 persons are with out energy, per The Augusta Chronicle. The better metro space encompassing Augusta, Georgia, and Aiken, South Carolina, has a inhabitants of about 600,000, that means greater than a 3rd of the residents on this space have misplaced energy.
Practically 1.1 million residents in Georgia are with out energy general.
Therefore, Augusta Nationwide Chairman Fred Ridley launched an announcement on early Saturday morning associated to this storm:
“Our Augusta neighborhood has suffered catastrophic and historic impression from Hurricane Helene. We at present are assessing the consequences at Augusta Nationwide Golf Membership,” Ridley mentioned within the assertion.
“Within the meantime, our focus and efforts are foremost with our workers, neighbors, and enterprise homeowners in Augusta. Our ideas and prayers are with them in addition to everybody all through Georgia and the Southeast who’ve been affected.”
“Our Augusta neighborhood has suffered catastrophic and historic impression from Hurricane Helene. We at present are assessing the consequences at Augusta Nationwide Golf Membership.
Within the meantime, our focus and efforts are foremost with our workers, neighbors and enterprise homeowners in Augusta. Our…
— The Masters (@TheMasters) September 28, 2024
Ridley didn’t point out any harm to the membership’s property; as a substitute, he targeted on the neighborhood. The membership has maintained a philanthropic presence in Augusta for years, supporting native charities and endeavors yearly by means of its Masters Match Basis. The membership additionally offered the Boys and Women Membership of Augusta with a $2.5 million present that helped construct a neighborhood middle, which opened in 2022.
However now the area faces devastating impacts that would take months—maybe years—to scrub up and restore. But, Augusta Nationwide will likely be on the forefront of these efforts, lending a hand to its neighborhood, which is desperately in want. Whether or not the course and membership suffered any harm is unknown, however that’s clearly not the precedence.
Jack Milko is a golf workers author for SB Nation’s Enjoying By. Be sure you take a look at @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You’ll be able to observe him on Twitter @jack_milko as effectively.
