SAINT SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — Lynn Klimp has vivid memories of the last time a hurricane slammed into St. Simons Island. In 1964, Hurricane Dora slammed the Georgia coastal region, devastating a wide swath of coastline.
Klimp told 11Alive's Christie Ethridge about her memories of Hurricane Dora and how much the preparations for Hurricane Dorian remind her of Dora.
"My dad was here for Dora - I was here for Dora, but my dad said he would never, ever go through another hurricane. And he was military," she said. "So, no - I would never do this again."
Lynn said that her father and uncle remained behind while she, her mother and sister went to Macon to escape the storm's fury.
"We went to Macon, and when we came back, there was eight feet of mud on our house, with him shoveling stuff out, five -- six days later, after we get across the causeway," she said. "That makes you understand what a storm can do."
Lynn said her father left the high-water mark inside the house where the water and mud topped out.
"He left the line on our upstairs thing when we were growing up, this is what a hurricane is," she said. "Growing up, he educated me, because he told me, you can save yourself, but how's this going to be replaced? You just need to leave."
Lynn reflected on how similar the preparations for Hurricane Dorian this week are to the preparations were in 1964 ahead of Hurricane Dora.
"In fact, my husband was talking with a friend of ours and he said this is so -- weird, that this thing is coming and it's a lot... like... Dora," she said.
"Dora was one of those that did not get captured because back in '64 they didn't capture all of the information," Lynn said, referring to the amount of technical detail and resources being used today. "But I can remember my dad coming in, and I remember -- I was little. He came in and said, 'Y'all going back to Macon.'"
She said her husband stayed behind with his family in Brunswick, and it was an awful thing to witness because of the storm surge. But when he came back, he, too, found mud in his house and could not even open the door.
State of Georgia Resources
- View up-to-date emergency declarations from Governor Kemp here.
- View updates from Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency here.
- Visit Ready Georgia for weather alerts and emergency preparedness tips.
- Follow Georgia 511 for real-time traffic information.
- Learn what to do before, during, and after a flood here.
- Report power outages by contacting your power provider. The two main providers in Georgia are:
- Call your local non-emergency police line to report a downed tree on a main road.
Please stay aware of any forecast changes as there are still many questions that remain about where Dorian goes after impacting Florida.
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