Expressing condolences to Sapelo Island community after dock collapse


The Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems would like to express our heartfelt condolences to the Sapelo Island community following the collapse of a ferry dock gangway that led to 7 deaths and severe injuries.

The collapse happened while crowds were gathered to celebrate the island’s Gullah-Geechee community.

The event, Cultural Day, is an annual event hosted by the Sapelo Island Cultural And Revitalization Society, as part of the Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Awareness Month.

Sapelo Island is home to a small Gullah-Geechee community, called Hogg Hummock. The community was founded after the Civil War by former slaves from the cotton plantation of Thomas Spalding. As a small, tight-knit community, losses like these are devastating.

IRIS affiliates have partnered with Hogg Hummock for a project that hopes to restore Big Hole marsh.

We are thinking of all affected, and sending thoughts and prayers as the community begins to recover from this tragedy.