THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 20, 1994 TAG: 9411200045
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 151 lines
For most residents of North Carolina's Outer Banks, Hurricane Gordon was no more than a spectator sport.
Families flocked to the blustery beaches Friday and Saturday to watch the tumultuous surf. Others sat indoors, eyes glued to the red-and-yellow mass slowly spinning across television screens. Some spent Saturday touring sand-covered side streets in four-wheel drives, dodging debris and fording rivers of ocean overwash.
Bridges and highways on the northern Outer Banks were open and unscathed.
But on Hatteras Island - and along a small stretch of Kitty Hawk - storm scars were still fresh and very visible Saturday afternoon. Brackish pools whirled beneath mobile homes and seaside cottages, long after high tide had subsided. Workers tried to dry out all 10 rooms at Rodanthe's Hatteras Island Resort motel, where waves had rushed through the windows the evening before. Cape Hatteras' spiral-striped lighthouse was surrounded by a two-foot deep saltwater moat, which stretched across the parking lot to the visitors' center front deck.
And chunks of N.C. Route 12 had been swept into the sea.
``People perceived we dodged a bullet on this storm. And, in fact, we have,'' Dare County spokesman Charlie Hartig said from emergency management headquarters on Roanoke Island. ``We didn't have to evacuate anyone. We're ready to welcome visitors for Thanksgiving week.
``But I think people'll be surprised at the amount of damage we did get.''
Friday afternoon, North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt declared a state of emergency for Dare and Currituck counties.
Estimates of the destruction's cost won't be ready for a few days, Hartig said.
Four houses fell into the ocean in Kitty Hawk. At least a dozen others from Southern Shores to South Nags Head lost stair cases to the sea. North Carolina Route 12 - the only road connecting the northern Outer Banks to Hatteras Island - crumbled and cracked along several 300-foot stretches.
Officials closed the two-lane highway south of Oregon Inlet Friday morning. By 8 a.m. Saturday, vehicles were already lined up to get onto Hatteras Island. Hundreds of other people remained stranded on the south side of Bonner Bridge.
Although state troopers finally reopened one lane of the about 5 p.m., inches of water and more than a foot of sand still stood in many areas. Driving was slow. And without a four-wheel drive, it was difficult. Motorists were warned to use caution.
``The damage to the road was much more severe than we anticipated,'' Hartig said. ``State transportation officials sent 60 guys and 12 pieces of heavy equipment down there to clear it off. They did a terrific job.''
As mustard colored front-end loaders struggled to scoop the sand from state Route 12 on Pea Island, waves continued to break around the huge truck tires. The ocean was flowing across the highway and into the sound in at least a dozen places on Hatteras Island Saturday morning. Miles of dunes had been flattened, leaving the road even more vulnerable to the churning surf.
``It's all tore up down here. The dunes have been cut and sliced,'' said Bryan Meekins, who was working at a service station in Buxton on Saturday. ``A lot of the south beach washed clear away.''
When the last hurricane, Emily, stormed through Hatteras Island in August 1993, the Category 3 blow raised waters in the sounds eight feet. Hundreds of people watched waves wash through their homes. High winds and water caused more than $12.6 million in damage.
Gordon's fury stayed farther off-shore. Most of the flooding came from the Atlantic. Electricity was on for all Outer Banks residents Saturday. The county's emergency office shut down before dark. And National Guard trucks carried gigantic water jugs to Rodanthe and Avon, where residents were warned not to drink from their wells because ocean overwash probably polluted their supply.
``People were shocked that we got as much damage as we did from this hurricane,'' said Elaine Ferrell, office manager of Rodanthe's flooded motel. ``But most of us also were relieved that we didn't have any more than what we got. We were glad when Gordon finally turned away.''
For most residents of North Carolina's Outer Banks, Hurricane Gordon was no more than a spectator sport.
Families flocked to the blustery beaches Friday and Saturday to watch the tumultuous surf. Others sat indoors, eyes glued to the red-and-yellow mass slowly spinning across television screens. Some spent Saturday touring sand-covered side streets in four-wheel drives, dodging debris and fording rivers of ocean overwash.
Bridges and highways on the northern Outer Banks were open and unscathed.
But on Hatteras Island - and along a small stretch of Kitty Hawk - storm scars were still fresh and very visible Saturday afternoon. Brackish pools whirled beneath mobile homes and seaside cottages, long after high tide had subsided. Workers tried to dry out all 10 rooms at Rodanthe's Hatteras Island Resort motel, where waves had rushed through the windows the evening before. Cape Hatteras' spiral-striped lighthouse was surrounded by a two-foot deep saltwater moat, which stretched across the parking lot to the visitors' center front deck.
And chunks of N.C. Route 12 had been swept into the sea.
``People perceived we dodged a bullet on this storm. And, in fact, we have,'' Dare County spokesman Charlie Hartig said from emergency management headquarters on Roanoke Island. ``We didn't have to evacuate anyone. We're ready to welcome visitors for Thanksgiving week.
``But I think people'll be surprised at the amount of damage we did get.''
Friday afternoon, North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt declared a state of emergency for Dare and Currituck counties.
Estimates of the destruction's cost won't be ready for a few days, Hartig said.
Four houses fell into the ocean in Kitty Hawk. At least a dozen others from Southern Shores to South Nags Head lost stair cases to the sea. North Carolina Route 12 - the only road connecting the northern Outer Banks to Hatteras Island - crumbled and cracked along several 300-foot stretches.
Officials closed the two-lane highway south of Oregon Inlet Friday morning. By 8 a.m. Saturday, vehicles were already lined up to get onto Hatteras Island. Hundreds of other people remained stranded on the south side of Bonner Bridge.
Although state troopers finally reopened one lane of the about 5 p.m., inches of water and more than a foot of sand still stood in many areas. Driving was slow. And without a four-wheel drive, it was difficult. Motorists were warned to use caution.
``The damage to the road was much more severe than we anticipated,'' Hartig said. ``State transportation officials sent 60 guys and 12 pieces of heavy equipment down there to clear it off. They did a terrific job.''
As mustard colored front-end loaders struggled to scoop the sand from state Route 12 on Pea Island, waves continued to break around the huge truck tires. The ocean was flowing across the highway and into the sound in at least a dozen places on Hatteras Island Saturday morning. Miles of dunes had been flattened, leaving the road even more vulnerable to the churning surf.
``It's all tore up down here. The dunes have been cut and sliced,'' said Bryan Meekins, who was working at a service station in Buxton on Saturday. ``A lot of the south beach washed clear away.''
When the last hurricane, Emily, stormed through Hatteras Island in August 1993, the Category 3 blow raised waters in the sounds eight feet. Hundreds of people watched waves wash through their homes. High winds and water caused more than $12.6 million in damage.
Gordon's fury stayed farther off-shore. Most of the flooding came from the Atlantic. Electricity was on for all Outer Banks residents Saturday. The county's emergency office shut down before dark. And National Guard trucks carried gigantic water jugs to Rodanthe and Avon, where residents were warned not to drink from their wells because ocean overwash probably polluted their supply.
``People were shocked that we got as much damage as we did from this hurricane,'' said Elaine Ferrell, office manager of Rodanthe's flooded motel. ``But most of us also were relieved that we didn't have any more than what we got. We were glad when Gordon finally turned away.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Above, a jogger competes with cleanup crews early Saturday morning
on the oceanfront road in Kitty Hawk. His path was littered with
sand and rubble left by Hurricane Gordon.
At left, Edward Yerkovich, 32, of Buffalo, N.Y., windsurfs on
Roanoke Sound at Nags Head, taking advantage of Saturday's
beautiful weather.
KEYWORDS: HURRICANE GORDON AFTERMATH DAMAGE by CNB