After Irene: Severe Flooding Feared Within Days

August 28, 2011

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KILL DEVIL HILLS,
“list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;”>N.C.

(AP) — From North Carolina to New Jersey, Hurricane Irene’s winds

and storm surge fell short of the doomsday predictions. But the

danger is far from over: With rivers still rising, severe flooding

is feared across much of the East Coast over the next few

days.

More than 4.5 million homes and businesses along the coast lost

power, and at least 14 deaths were blamed on the storm.

With roads impassable because of high water and fallen trees, it

could be days before the full extent of the damage is known. But as

day broke Sunday, many places reported only light damage consisting

of little more than downed trees and power lines.

“I think it’s a little strong to say we dodged a bullet. However,

it certainly could have turned out worse for the Hampton Roads

area” in Virginia, said National Weather Service meteorologist

Mike

“list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;”>Montefusco.

At the same time, officials warned of the possibility of extreme

flooding as runoff from the storm makes its way into creeks and

rivers.

Irene brought six inches to a foot of rain to many places along the

East Coast. In one eastern North Carolina neighborhood, two-dozen

homes were destroyed by flooding and officials feared more damage

could be uncovered there.

Some areas of the Northeast had soggy ground even before the storm

because of an extremely rainy August.

“We are going to look at a record flooding situation here, both at

the shore and inland,” New Jersey

“list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;”>Gov.

Chris Christie said on ABC’s “This Week.”

The storm was still pummeling the New York City area and New

England on Sunday morning, dropping below hurricane strength but

still dangerous with 65 mph winds and heavy downpours.

Virginia

“list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;”>Gov.

Bob McDonnell had initially warned that Irene could be a

“catastrophic” monster with record storm surges of up to 8

feet.

But in Virginia Beach, the city posted on Twitter late Saturday

that initial reports were promising, with the resort area suffering

minimal damage. And in Ocean City,

“list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;”>Md.,

Mayor Rick Meehan reported: “Scattered power outages. No reports of

major damage!”

“list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;”>Lusby, Md.,

Constellation Energy Nuclear Group said one of two nuclear reactors

at Calvert Cliffs went off-line automatically because of Irene’s

winds. Constellation said the plant was safe.

Floodwaters were rising across New Jersey, and more than 2,000

National Guardsmen were helping with search and rescue work as

officials assessed the damage. The

“list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;”>Raritan River,

which caused disastrous flooding after it was swelled by rain from

Hurricane Floyd 12 years ago, was not expected to crest until

Sunday evening.

Still, with skies clearing Sunday morning, some of those living on

the coast were cautiously optimistic.

After spending the night hunkered down in his

Pleasantville,

“list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;”>N.J.,

home overnight without electricity, Harry Webber went outside in a

fruitless search for place to buy a cup of coffee.

“I was pleasantly surprised to see that most of my town is still in

one piece,” he said.

Late last week, Irene was a fearsome Category 3 hurricane with

sustained winds of around 115 mph as it barreled across open water

toward the East Coast. Forecasters predicted it could grow to a

scarier Category 4 before blowing ashore.

By Friday, though, the storm began losing steam. It came ashore the

next day in North Carolina a mere Category 1 with winds of about 85

mph, and had weakened into a tropical storm by the time its eye hit

New York City on Sunday.

While the National Hurricane Center accurately predicted Irene’s

track, the agency’s director acknowledged that forecasting the

strength of the winds days in advance can be difficult because of

the myriad factors involved.

“We’re not completely sure how the interplay of various features is

causing the strength of a storm to change,” said Bill Read,

director of the National Hurricane Center.

North Carolina

“list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;”>Gov.

Beverly Perdue said that Irene inflicted significant damage along

her state’s coast, but that the full extent was unclear because

some areas were unreachable because of high water or downed power

lines.

Perdue planned an aerial tour Sunday of the hardest-hit counties

after TV coverage showed downed trees, toppled utility poles and

power lines and mangled awnings.

In North Carolina’s Craven County, officials said that as many as

25 homes were destroyed by swells from the

“list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;”>NeuseRiver

in a neighborhood that was hit hard by Hurricane Isabel in 2003.

The fire department rescued people from a handful of houses on

Saturday.

Officials in North Carolina’s Dare County said they were advised

there was extensive flooding that needed to be checked out. About

2,500 people on Hatteras Island have been cut off by damaged roads,

and there are plans to bring them supplies by ferry. It’s not clear

yet how bad damage was on the island.

Elsewhere, authorities suggested Irene didn’t create the kind of

havoc that had been anticipated.

“We were prepared for a lot worse, but we got lucky on this one,”

said Bruce Shell, New Hanover County,

“list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;”>N.C.,

manager.

He said many of the 70,000 homes that lost power Saturday were back

online in the evening and a wastewater spill at

“list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;”>Wrightsville Beach

appeared to be minor.

“font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;”>Pinehurst

dentist

“list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;”>Harwell Palmer

said his home in Ocean Isle Beach,

“list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;”>N.C.,

lost a few pieces of siding and there was some street flooding, but

a pier that took a pounding from the waves was still standing. The

storm did gobble up some of the sand.

“The main concern we will have going forward is the loss of beach,”

he said.

The question still facing the region was whether Irene’s effects

over the next few days would match the mess left behind by such

storms as Floyd and Isabel.

In 1999, Floyd dropped at least 15 inches of rain on eastern North

Carolina. The flooding was the most damaging in the state’s

history, topping $3 billion in North Carolina. Four years later,

Isabel brought hurricane conditions to eastern North Carolina and

southeast Virginia, causing about $1 billion in damage.

In the resort town of Ocean City,

“list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;”>Md.,

damage appeared minimal. A few small trees along a major road had

been uprooted. Scattered piles of sand about two feet high covered

areas of the boardwalk. The end of a wooden pier was sagging and a

wooden railing was askew.

At the

“list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;”>Quietstorm surf

shop on the boardwalk, part of a wall where the shop’s name is

advertised had been torn off, exposing wiring and scattering

insulation. Locals, though, said they had seen worse during

ordinary storms.

“I think we dodged a bullet,” said LeAnn Price.

Robert Ray Tom Foreman Jr

national

The A&T Register

The A&T Register

The A&T Register

After Irene: Severe Flooding Feared Within Days

The A&T Register