UP TO

$761
IN COUPON
SAVINGS

SUNDAY
OCTOBER 9, 2016 $1.25
COVERING THE ANCIENT CITY AND ST. JOHNS COUNTY SINCE 1894
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HURRICANE MATTHEW
Preliminary
estimates of
damage in
Surveying damage in St. Augustine
by Jake martin common sights in roadways post-hurricane breeze on

county top
jake.martin@staugustine.com and parking lots throughout one hinge. Some front steps
St. Augustine and West Au- were caved in or missing al-
Saturday mornings blue gustine, from the bayfront together. Street signs were

$2 billion skies and the many St. Au-

by Jared Keever
jared.keever@staugustine.com
County and local of-
ficials urged residents to
be patient Saturday as St.
Johns County attempts to
dig out from under damage
left in the wake of Hurri-
gustine streets populated
with people riding bikes
and jumping sidewalk pud-
dles provided something of
a contrast to the many signs
of water and wind damage
brought by Hurricane Mat-
thew less than 24 hours ear-
lier.
Small debris from trees
and minor flooding were
back to the railroad tracks
and points beyond.
Residents and business
owners alike could be seen
pulling down plywood and
tossing sandbags to the side,
trying to get a better look at
their properties to access
the damage. Many fenc-
es and walls had toppled
over. Screen doors swung
opened and closed in the
off their poles. Many things
seemed just a little off,
whether crooked or with
pieces missing.
Eric Shaw, chief engineer
for the Hilton St. Augus-
tine Historic Bayfront Ho-
tel, along with his assistant
Rafel Bamba, had front-
row seats to the Category 3 peter.Willott@stAugustine.com
Crews clear a downed tree on San Marco Avenue just
Please see survey/3A north of Pine Street in St. Augustine on Saturday.

Beach Chief: Night on Anastasia

cane Matthew.
At an afternoon news
conference at the Emer-
gency Operations Center,
St. Johns County Sheriff
David Shoar said he under-

Island humbling experience

stood residents who live on
the barrier islands are anx-
ious to get to their homes,
but officials still were not
sure some coastal areas of
the county were safe.
We are still in the pro-
cess of assessing neighbor-
hoods, Shoar said.
As of 2 p.m. Ponte Vedra
Beach and the downtown
area of the City of St. Au-
gustine had reopened, but
the Vilano Beach area and
all of Anastasia Island re-
mained closed.
Officials said they hoped
the remaining areas could
be reopened by Saturday
evening.
Shoar opened the news
conference in which Coun-
ty Administrator Michael
Wanchick and St. Augus-
tine City Manager John Re-
gan also spoke.
Today is a historic day,
obviously, in St. Johns
County, Shoar said.
Shoar said he gauges the
countys ultimate success
by the number of fatalities
in the wake of a catastroph-
ic event.
Thank God, this far, we
have not had any, he said.
But the county did take a
significant hit as the pow-
erful Category 3 hurricane
skirted the countys coast,
heading north.
Wanchick called the
storm unprecedented
in the countys recent his-
tory and said preliminary
damage estimates topped
$2 billion. Those estimates
include damage to infra-
structure and problems
caused by coastal erosion
and flooding, he said.
Wanchick said he was
of the understanding that
some homes north of
Vilano Beach were lost in
the storm. State Road A1A,
along the entire length of
the county, remained in-
tact, he said.
Wanchick also urged pa-
tience for residents hoping
to get home and said the
primary objective for offi-
cials is still to protect lives.
It is important to re-
member that we didnt
come this far and bring our photos by st. Augustine beAch police DepArtment/contributeD
citizens through this storm flooding was extensive on Anastasia Island during Hurricane Matthew on friday.
to allow them to get hurt on

Water is still receding in St. Augustine Beach Officials assess damage

re-entry, he said.
He said he understood
that people were living in
county-provided shelters
in less than desirable
conditions.
But those people are
alive today because of
those shelters, Wanchick
said.
We are being very care-
ful as we re-introduce our
citizens into these environ-
ments, he added.
Please see costs/4A
by Jared Keever
jared.keever@staugustine.com
As public safety officials
worked Saturday morn-
ing to ensure safe re-entry
to Anastasia Island, there
were no immediate re-
ports of serious injuries or
deaths as a result of Hurri-
cane Matthew.
St. Augustine Beach Po-
lice Chief Robert Hard-
wick, three Beach police
officers and one National
Guardsman stayed on the
island through the night
Friday as the Category 3
hurricane skirted the coast,
heading north.
It was one of the most
humbling experiences of
my life, Hardwick told
The Record on Saturday
morning.
Prior to re-entry being
announced, Hardwick re-
ported significant wind
damage.
We have power lines
down and still have water
receding, he said.
He said a number of
residents chose to stay
Please see beAch/3A
by sheldon gardner
sheldon.gardner@staugustine.com
Local officials began as-
sessing damage on Satur-
day from Hurricane Mat-
thew, starting what could
be a long recovery process.
Officials were optimis-
tic, though the full extent
of the hurricanes impact
was not yet known.
The city has been
around for 451 years, said
St. Augustine Mayor Nancy
Shaver. We will do what
we always do. Well pull to-
gether as a community and
well [do] what needs to be
done.
Hurricane Matthew
pounded the county as a
Please see officiAls/3A

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