Hurricane Sandy

Into every life a little rain must fall, but this was ridiculous. Here on the Outer Banks as Hurricane Sandy passed, we had two full days of howling winds, driving rain and and that doesn’t include the full day of build up and day to bring things back to normal. All in all, four days of Mother Nature exacting payment for the beautiful fall weather the we’ve experienced the past few weeks.

The Outer Banks got off a lot easier than our neighbors to the north, though. Tropical force winds lasted longer here–the shear size of Sandy was unique in itself, but we didn’t have cars floating in the streets as they did in NYC, or a 9’ storm surge, and on the northern Outer Banks we didn’t even lose power.

There were impacts, though. Hatteras Island especially, took a beating. Actually the villages themselves seemed to have sustained relatively little damage, but once again, the land link to Hatteras Island was severed at the S curves just north of Rodanthe, and the latest report from NCDOT is they will have the road repaired by Thanksgiving.

The Ocracoke Hatteras Ferry is running and the NC Ferry Division is starting emergency service between Stumpy Point on the mainland and Rodanthe. However, according to the latest Dare County emergency bulletin, “At this time, visitors are not allowed entry to Hatteras Island. Dare County officials are working with state and local authorities to determine when conditions will allow visitors to return.” According to Dare County officials, the restrictions apply to both Stumpy Point and Ocracoke.

For vacationers with Hatteras plans, please call us at Resort Realty and we’ll see if we can accommodate your needs.

North of Oregon Inlet, most of the damage that did occur, seemed to have been centered around the main population areas of the Northern Outer Banks– Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills and Kitty Hawk. Southern Shores north to Corolla had some beach erosion and some overwash from both the sea and sound, but nothing too significant.

Perhaps one of the saddest sights was seeing Avalon Pier in Kill Devil Hills severed in two places by the force of Sandy. A family business that had withstood all the Atlantic Ocean had thrown at it for almost 60 years, it would be a shame if it is not rebuilt. It’s still too early to tell if the pier can or will be part of the shoreline once again.

Long-time residents and folks that have lived their entire lives on the Outer Banks were adamant that the overwash was the worst they had ever seen. In Kitty Hawk the entire Beach Road had to be closed, the dune line in many places has ceased to exist and there appears to be very significant damage to the road itself.

The Atlantic Ocean flooded the Bypass in Kitty Hawk–the main road through the northern Outer Banks. For almost a mile, starting at the Kitty Hawk Post Office, almost to the Kill Devil Hills town line, there was 18” of standing water on the road making it impassable for passenger cars and miserable driving for 4wd and higher clearance vehicles. On Tuesday night, high tide brought deeper water and the KH Police closed the road.

But all of this were just minor irritants–especially compared to what our neighbors to the north have gone through. If into every life a little rain must fall, and this is the price we have to pay for living in paradise–it’s all worth it.