Weekend earthquake destabilizes Hutchinson Island dock, Westin parking garage, ferry service

This is a developing story. Check back for updates

A weekend earthquake has rendered parts of Hutchinson Island unstable, including the ferry dock and Westin parking garage, by causing land to settle near the banks of the Savannah River.

The settling began Saturday morning following a 3.9 magnitude earthquake, according to an email the Savannah Morning News obtained from Savannah City Manager Jay Melder, which he sent to a number of county and city employees this weekend.

More: Drought conditions spread throughout Georgia, bringing hot temperatures, wilting plants

"As you are aware, we have been experiencing significant settling and failure of the Plaza near the Ferry Landing between the Westin and the Convention Center in the County’s ROW since Saturday morning," Melder's email, addressed to County Manager Lee Smith, reads.

The damage is extensive enough to prompt fears about total structural failure of the Westin Hotel parking garage and Bryan Square, which is adjacent to the garage and Savannah Convention Center.

Hutchinson Island is located within Chatham County, but according to Melder's email, the county refused to take up the issue until Tuesday morning, so the city began moving forward with temporary safety precautions this weekend, according to the email.

Natural Disasters: Two Bryan County families share experiences a month after tornado

"As this is County ROW (right-of-way), the City will pass off lead for the stabilization and repair of the ROW to the County on Tuesday morning," Melder's email reads. "We will coordinate with you on the transfer of responsibility for the stabilization plan that we instigated to ensure the materials would be on site without further delay."

The damage compromises the public access dock, which is owned and maintained by the city and is used by Chatham-Area Transit for the ferry services between River Street and Hutchinson Island.

CAT spokesperson A'riel Thomas said the ferry is running on its normal schedule, but is docking at the dock outside of the Trade Center. So, any passengers wanting to ride the ferry to or from River Street will need to access the service from the World Trade Center.

Thomas said the Savannah Belles Ferry will be "docking at trade center... until the agency working on the sinkhole tells us we can't."

Passengers will have to access the dock from inside the trade center, since the walkway outside is compromised.

Saturday's earthquake was about 70 miles from Hutchinson Island, just east of Stillmore Georgia, in Candler County, but people from Hilton Head to Columbia, South Carolina, reported feeling the tremors, according to a report from WPDE.

The damage comes amid millions of dollars in expansion and developments on Hutchinson Island, where work to expand the convention center, build a new hotel and marina, and build luxury housing has been in the works for decades.

More: New marina, residences and convention center expansion on the horizon at Hutchinson Island

Melder's email said temporary work could begin as early as Wednesday, with the city procuring sheet piles to temporarily stabilize the damaged sites, but the permanent damage will take further surveying and work to address.

On Tuesday morning, County spokesperson Catherine Glasby told the Savannah Morning News staff was working on the issue.

"We have a team assessing it now," her email said. "I hope to have more info in the next 24 hours."

Zoe covers growth and how it impacts communities in the Savannah area. Find her at znicholson@gannett.com, @zoenicholson_ on Twitter, and @zoenicholsonreporter on Instagram. 

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Hutchinson Island Westin parking garage affected by earthquake