THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 20, 1994 TAG: 9411200086
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 43 lines
Although skies had cleared and the surf was subsiding, the scars left by Hurricane Gordon were still evident Saturday on the North Carolina Outer Banks:
On Hatteras Island and along a small stretch of Kitty Hawk, 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 Friday night.
Four houses fell into the ocean in Kitty Hawk.
Cape Hatteras' spiral-striped lighthouse was surrounded by a 2-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.
North Carolina Route 12 - the only road connecting the northern Outer Banks to Hatteras Island - crumbled and cracked along several 300-foot stretches. Parts were closed.
Although police reopened one lane about 5 p.m., water and more than a foot of sand still stood in many areas. Driving was slow and, without a four-wheel drive, difficult.
Estimates of the damage won't be ready for a few days, Hartig said.
KEYWORDS: HURRICANE GORDON by CNB