Posted on 07/12/2005 1:10:48 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
EASTPOINT - Hurricane Dennis proved a bedeviling storm that left some of the worst damage nearly 200 miles from where it came ashore.
While much of the recovery effort focused near the Pensacola area where Dennis made landfall, L.C. Catnei sat on his damaged houseboat and waited for help. He returned from his daughter's home inland on Monday to find the boat resting on the side of U.S. 98, with a huge gash in its side.
``I don't have any more money so I'm just going to sit here and wait for help,'' said Catnei, 72, a retired commercial fisherman. ``When the county finally comes and tears the boat down, I guess I'll go live under a bridge.''
He had lived on the boat for six months near Eastpoint in the Apalachicola Bay.
By Monday, Dennis had weakened to a tropical depression that pushed north through Alabama, heading toward Ohio.
The storm weakened slightly before it made landfall early Sunday afternoon as a Category 3 storm, with 120 mph winds. It hit very close to where the more-devastating Hurricane Ivan came ashore about 10 months before.
Franklin County officials said Dennis flattened at least a dozen oyster houses in Eastpoint.
Storm surge had turned most of the county's oyster houses into mounds of wood and debris.
``My grandfather fished, my father fished, I fished and now my son fishes,'' said John Joepolus, a retired fisherman. ``I'm not an educated man, but I know oyster fishing like the back of my hand. Now my boat is destroyed, and I have nothing.''
Dennis also destroyed The Hut, a restaurant in Apalachicola that opened in 1941.
Waves tore off the back wall and damaged much of the equipment and supplies, washing them thousands of feet down the road.
``Everyone's talking about Pensacola and they've forgotten about us,'' Hut owner owner Robert Saker said. ``Where are the politicians and the people to help us? We need it badly.''
Some residents fear that Dennis will provoke the kind of redevelopment they don't want, with developers leveling thrashed oyster houses to make way for lucrative condos, shops and housing.
``I can imagine the developers rubbing their hands in anticipation,'' said Ron Gempel, owner of Carrabelle Junction coffee and sandwich shop. ``This storm will be an end and a beginning.''
Reaction Mixed
Forecasters and state officials all expressed relief Monday that damage appeared minimal, though still significant for many residents in the eastern Panhandle.
Terry Cooksey, whose home was destroyed along U.S. 98, bristled at newscasts that said Florida had ``dodged a bullet.''
``If we dodged a bullet, I would hate to see what an actual one looks like,'' Cooksey said.
There were no reports of death or serious injury in the eastern Panhandle as the result of Dennis, authorities said.
For residents in the eastern Panhandle, the worst of Dennis' wrath was flooding, not wind.
Robert Weisberg, professor of physical oceanography at University of South Florida, said the area ``was like a dead end for the water,'' as Dennis pushed up the Gulf of Mexico.
About 50 homes and at least two dozen businesses were destroyed on Dog Island, Alligator Point and on the mainland in Franklin County, said Alan Pierce, spokesman for the county's Emergency Operation Center. The houses either disappeared into the Gulf or collapsed into the rubble when the soil underneath gave way.
The county was slammed with a 10-foot storm surge, the highest in recent memory. It rolled as far inland as a half- mile. Only Hurricane Kate in 1985 compared, with an 8-foot surge, said Pierce, who also is a county planner.
Twenty miles of U.S. 98, the only paved east-west artery through Franklin County, is closed between Eastpoint and Carrabelle while crews restore the washed-out sections. The detour is about 100 miles long.
The little community of Alligator Point that juts out into the gulf is suddenly an island, Pierce said. About 50 people who didn't evacuate Alligator Point are stuck without any vehicle access to the mainland, after Gulf Shore Boulevard washed out. Locals were using swamp buggies to ferry residents back to their homes Monday. Alligator Point has about 400 residents and 700 homes, including many vacation properties.
Only 68-year-old Ed Burns required rescue from Alligator Point.
Swelling floodwaters began to strip away the underside of Burns' home as he watched, pacing from window to window.
Burns, a postal worker, said he spent much of Saturday on the phone with friends and family downplaying the risks.
``I told them the water was rising but not how much. I told them there would be damage but not how much,'' said Burns, rummaging through his belongings now hundreds of feet away from his property.
Surprised By Waves
In St. Marks, a small town located at the confluence of the Wakulla and St. Marks Rivers, the high storm surge caught most residents off guard. Many businesses and homes close to the water sustained major flood damage, some were total losses.
Inside Bo Lynn's Grocery and Market, floodwaters damaged floors, shelving and wrecked most inventory.
Joy Brown, who has owned the store 40 years, tried to salvage whatever she could Monday afternoon.
``We were prepared for 4 to 6 feet surges but we were not prepared for 12,'' said Brown. ``The water came in faster than anything I ever saw.''
Families living near Shell Island Fish Camp and Marina, a community of mobile homes and campers, were taken by boat to safety Sunday afternoon when water levels rose.
Belongings had to be left behind.
``I've lost both vehicles, both motorcycles and everything inside my house,'' said Genetta Whitt, whose mobile home was submerged in 5 feet of water. ``The only thing I took was my purse. Having to live through this is total hell.''
Others living near the fish camp said they did not expect waters to rise so quickly.
``We didn't think it would get that high because we got so many false alarms last year,'' said Terri Longver, whose mobile home was completely submerged. ``It was just surreal. Water just rushed through the back of the house, just a wave came through the house. Everything is mud, everything is wet.''
Clay and Melanie Perez returned home only to find their mailbox, three salad bowls and a jar of dry beans.
``You just have to suck it up,'' Melanie Perez said. ``Tonight, we'll be crying though.''
Staff writers Garrett Therolf, Michon Ashmore, Gretchen Parker and Mike Salinero contributed to this report. Reporter Baird Helgeson can be reached at (813) 259-7668.
Cincy, I appreciate your posting this- the impression I got from reports was that Dennis was no big deal- obviously, for some people it was.
When I was a kid, Wakulla Springs was one of my family's favorite vacation spots.
That's why I posted it.
A lot of people did get slammed.
The Tampa Tribune did a good story.
I'll go & look for it- thanks.
You're there.
This is it.
:^)
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Check this out about Ft. De Soto Park. It's a place where I had many a picnic with my family.
You have a good heart mariabush.
It's O.K to be glad there wasn't more damage.
Thanks for the post, Cin.
Here on the bay in nearby Panama City, we had more damage than with Ivan! Our dock is in three pieces and destroyed and there is a 60 foot tree in the backyard that FLOATED in...we haven't a clue where it came from nor how it got under our picnic table! We evacuated and returned yesterday and got power about 7 PM last night.
The storm surge must have been really high but won't know just how high until the grass dies in a day or two.
Otherwise, all is well!!
I am so sorry for your loss, but thank goodness you had the sense to leave. Our kids stayed and I was scared to death.
Looks like a long season is in store.
One not so lucky.
A news story about Hurrican Dennis we had not heard about or read. Ping.
Thanks for the ping!
I live in Tallahassee. We had 3 different families from the coast up here during Dennis. You would not believe the damage down there. Here's a link with some photos:
http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/
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