Posted on 08/04/2004 7:48:46 AM PDT by Rebelbase
OCRACOKE -- The season's first hurricane grazed the North Carolina coast Tuesday, scouring the Outer Banks with heavy winds and swamping them with fast-moving water.
(Erin Lopez and Matt Caviness of the U.S. Coast Guard abandon their SUV in a flooded area of Buxton. They had just come from saving the life of a woman threatened by rising water. 'I'll trade a life for a car any time,' Caviness said.)
The eye of Hurricane Alex, which strengthened to Category 2 Tuesday morning, came within 15 miles of Cape Hatteras but never made landfall. By midafternoon, it was headed out to sea.
Most of the coast emerged unscathed, and no one was reported injured or killed. But Hatteras and Ocracoke islands took a hit.
Sustained winds near Cape Hatteras reached 75 mph, with gusts of more than 100 mph, and the Pamlico Sound surged 3 to 5 feet above normal
Dare and Hyde counties declared emergencies and warned people against traveling there.
"None of us foresaw this," said Stephen Monticone, a bartender at the flooded Pelican Restaurant in Ocracoke village. "We all thought it was just going to be a bunch of rain. People would have left if they'd known it was going to be this bad."
Monticone said water in the village was waist deep about 1 p.m. Tuesday, before the storm surge receded. Trees and utility poles were down all over town.
Neither island ordered an evacuation before the storm, which didn't strengthen into a hurricane until Tuesday morning. Many tourists decided to stay -- and some paid the price.
Emergency officials said as many as 500 cars were flooded in Ocracoke, along with several homes. Hyde County Sheriff L.B. Johnson and two deputies arrived on the island at 9:45 p.m. in a rescue helicopter that flew up from Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station. Deputies stationed on the island told the sheriff the water had reached 4 to 5 feet in the village and that locals said it was "the worst they'd ever seen."
Johnson said his deputies rescued tourists and residents from flooded homes and cars.
National Guard members were sent to Dare County to assist in cleanup.
On Hatteras Island, ice machines floated down the highway and landed on the beach. High winds stripped the leaves off trees and peeled shingles off houses.
After the storm, the island was festooned with broken trees and droopy power lines. Sand and seaweed spilled across the highway. A storage building at Cape Hatteras School in Buxton sat upside down in the parking lot.
Carol Dillon, owner of the Outer Banks Motel in Buxton, said water rose quickly from the sound, and about a foot poured through the motel doors. When the water receded, it left several cars stuck in sand and guests struggling to push them out.
Dillon said the damage was not as bad as in Hurricane Isabel in September, but she had yet to tally it. "I know I've lost my pool again," she said.
A few miles farther south at The Inn on Pamlico Sound, guests were outside after the storm, helping clean up broken tree limbs and other debris.
Some lost cars
Floodwaters mostly had receded by evening, but parts of N.C. 12, the Outer Banks' main artery, still were closed. State officials said the asphalt was not damaged and that the road should reopen today after the Department of Transportation clears off sand and debris.
A few thousand people, including all of Ocracoke, were without power Tuesday night, but state officials said it was being restored quickly.
Ferry service to Ocracoke and Hatteras islands was suspended Tuesday night, but Hyde County Manager Don Davenport said a ferry will begin taking people off of Ocracoke today. Vacationers who lost cars can walk onto ferries today and get help with transportation when they arrive on the mainland, he said. After the evacuation, only residents will be allowed back on the island.
"It appears that damage associated with Alex will be minimal and mostly confined to Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands," Gov. Mike Easley said in a statement. "We expect things to return to normal soon."
Though the toll probably will be small, it looked for a while Tuesday as though the Outer Banks faced another Isabel.
Surprised vacationers, driven out of campgrounds by winds, huddled in a darkened pizza restaurant in Buxton. Two restaurant employees used all their strength to hold a door shut against the wind before deciding to lock it for fear it would be torn off its hinges.
Other sections of the coast endured winds of 40 mph or more, but no damage was reported. By 3 p.m., as the sky cleared and the wind diminished to a breeze, many were asking, "What storm?"
"This isn't a hurricane," said Carolyn Brown, a waitress at The Captain's Table in Morehead City. "It takes a Category 3 for us to close. This is just a mullet blow."
Moving on
Coastal counties including Pamlico, Carteret and Craven reported minor power outages and damage. Even eastern Carteret County, a highly vulnerable area because of its low topography, experienced only minor flooding.
Many businesses were open as normal, and the roads were clogged with traffic as people went about business as usual.
As the day ended, most on the coast were ready to put this hurricane behind them.
"By tomorrow, the sun will be out," said Jonathan Burrus, an employee of Burrus' Red and White grocery store in Hatteras Village, "and people will have another great day at the beach."
Local message board with more details of the storm: http://fishtradewinds.com/cgi-bin/twreport.cgi
NC Ping please
My sister and b-i-l rented a house for this week somewhere in the Outer Banks and have not been heard from. It would help if they turned their cellphones on! What airheads.
I just got back from a week long vacation on Ocracoke Island the week after the 4th of July. I love that place! No fast-food, no crowds, and PLENTY OF BEACH!
Video of the damage, Howards Pub in video
http://www.wral.com/video/3614256/detail.html
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.