Weakened Irene still leaves mark on North Carolina coast

Flooding extends inland with storm’s tidal surge.

Hurricane Irene may have lost some of her punch while approaching the North Carolina Coast, but she didn’t mind her manners and wasn’t a welcome guest. In reducing the velocity of the winds, the huge storm slowed and outstayed its welcome.

The story of Hurricane Irene’s passing is a three-part story, and the chapters roughly correspond to North Carolina’s capes.

The storm was still mainly over the ocean as it passed Cape Fear and spread multiple inches of rain, a small tidal surge and winds gusting to near hurricane force over the Southport/Wilmington/Wrightsville Beach area. There was a little flooding and numerous trees and limbs blown down, but the major inconvenience was the loss of power.

The storm lumbered across the southern Outer Banks just above Cape Lookout for its official landfall. Flooding along all bodies of water and in low-lying areas was widespread along the immediate coast.

With this angle of approach, the storm pushed a surge of several feet of water from Pamlico Sound up the Neuse and Pamlico Rivers, flooded many areas.

The city of New Bern was one of the hardest-hit areas, as the surge made it as far as a local mall there. Numerous people had to be rescued by boat from neighborhoods thought to be safe.

It was expected that many of the small communities along the rivers would see some flood waters, but nothing to the extent of what actually happened. Homes and businesses in Craven and Pamlico Counties were flooded with water several feet deep in garages and first floors.

Loss of electricity and communication were widespread across the entire area. When electricity went out, many land line phones failed, also. Cell phones continued to work until towers lost power.

A surprising number of people kept in touch using smart phones and texting or using social media such as FaceBook.

As Irene finally began to pass the Outer Banks and the waters began to recede, there were more problems.

Water breached Highway 12, which is the only highway along the Outer Banks, just north of the tri-villages of Salvo, Waves and Rodanthe. The estimate is this cut is about 900 feet wide.

Residents of the coastal communities are gradually getting power and phone service back, but much of Hatteras Island is cut off by this new inlet.

With the road out, Hatteras Island is only accessible by boat. The Ferry Division of the North Carolina Department of Transportation said they would be setting up temporary ferry service from Stumpy Point to cross to each end of the island.

Some of the southern coastal communities allowed people back in as early as Saturday (Aug. 27) morning. Others held out for a while longer, and some imposed curfews.

Atlantic Beach began to allow residents to return Sunday (Aug. 28), while some areas are waiting until Monday.

As folks are able to move about more freely, we should get a better understanding of the scope of the damage from slow moving Hurricane Irene.

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