Terry Richards | The Valdosta Daily TimesA Dollar General store in Lake Park shows storm damage Monday afternoon after Irma moved through.

VALDOSTA — Power outages were widespread and damage was substantial, but officials were generally pleased with the way Lowndes County and Valdosta residents responded to the impact of Tropical Storm Irma Monday.

“We had no law-enforcement problems,” Valdosta Police Chief Brian Childress said Tuesday. “There was no curfew warranted in the city. We asked people to stay off the roads if at all possible, and they did.”

Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk echoed the sentiment.

When asked about looting, he said “Not a bit. There was one incident on Bemiss Road in which someone broke a convenience store window but they didn’t gain entry.”

Irma raked through South Georgia Monday with 30- to 35 mile-per-hour winds and occasional gusts in the 50-60 mph range, said Katie Moore, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Tallahassee, Fla., office.

Rainfall amounts between two to four inches soaked the area, with the heaviest rain toward the east around Valdosta, but there were no reports of major flooding in South Georgia, she said.

“There was major flooding farther east, in Jacksonville, and farther south, in Tampa,” Moore said.

No tornadoes were reported in South Georgia, “just lots of wind damage,” she said.

That includes agricultural damage, Paulk said.

“There was a lot of crop damage across the county,” he said.

Trees and power lines were down everywhere; both Paulk and Childress said many homes wound up with trees on top of them.

Both the sheriff and the police chief said there were no serious injuries related to the storm.

Both lawmen were especially concerned about road intersections without power for traffic lights.

“The public, upon reaching an intersection without power, should treat it as a four-way stop,” Childress said. “Remember, the vehicle to the right always has right-of-way. Do not assume you have right-of-way; stop and look.”

Interstate 75 was jammed again Tuesday morning — but this time it was the southbound lanes that were packed, with Florida residents heading home, Paulk said.

More than 10,000 Georgia Power customers in Lowndes County were without power Tuesday morning, said Holly Crawford, a company spokeswoman. She said it could be as long as a week before all customers are powered back up.

Colquitt Electric Membership Corporation had 24,000 customers without power as of 8 a.m. Tuesday, said spokeswoman Joni Fox.

CrossPointe Church, which was opened as a shelter, was expected to close Tuesday with 430 people heading home, said Pastor David Rogers. The church was making arrangements for a few people without homes, he said.

Mathis Auditorium closed its shelter Tuesday morning. 

Reporter Tom Lynn contributed to this story.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.