Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Broad summary of Hurricane Irene damage on the Outer Banks, NC

The biggest damage by far came from soundside flooding. The height of the water reached record levels, even surpassing the previous marks set in Hurricane Donna in 1960. Many businesses in downtown Manteo were flooded. Many homes near the sound on Roanoke Island, and westside homes in all the towns along the Outer Banks took record flooding. Highway 12 was undermined in Duck and took several days to temporarily patch to allow traffic north of Sunset Grille. On the other end of 12, several new breaches in the road occurred on Hatteras Island, as well as Ocracoke. There is a new inlet cut in Pea Island, completely down thru the base layer, with ocean/sound water running in and out with every tide. This will not be an easy fix. Timelines look to be in weeks, if not months. There is a ferry service being established, but as of now, it will be for essential personnel and goods to get to Hatteras Island. Over 2500 residents are cutoff from supplies at the moment, on an island of their own. There is a strict curfew in place there, even to the extent of the Coast Guard patrolling the waters nearby to keep boats from landing unauthorized.
Things could have been worse, but for those hit, it seems like a mighty bad time right now.

1 comment:

haziewaller said...

saw Manteo pics online. wow. the amount of work ahead for storm victims is just overwhelming. so glad you are OK. what about the green house????