Hurricane Floyd Hits the Outer Banks of N.C.

    The following photographs were taken at the beginning of, during and the morning after Hurricane Floyd's striking the Outer Banks. Thought the "morning after" pics would be an interesting contrast. All photos were taken within a mile and a half of my home. My home sits in the middle of the island on one of the highest points of land on the Outer Banks. The shots of Kitty Hawk Bay on the sound-side were taken at the west end of my road, and the ocean pics were taken from the beach directly across from the east end of my road.

    Damage experienced here ranged from minor: shingles and siding being ripped off some structures: to major: entire roofs being lifted from two motels and a modular home being blown apart. Other damage noticed included signs being blown down, water damage from sound-side flooding in homes in lower areas on west side of island, and the shelter cover over the gas pumps at a convenience store being blown down.

    I would estimate the highest wind gusts being in excess of 80 m.p.h. at the storm's peak. As a side note, when I was going to the beach to take some of the shots during the storm, I had a 4'x4' piece of plywood blow by 3 feet in front of me like it was a piece of paper. Darned lucky it didn't take my foolish head off! Also watched the water rise 14 inches in 1 minute on the sound-side when storm first hit. At one point during the storm, an otter popped his head up next to the stop sign shown in some of these pics on the west end of my road. Unfortunately, I was too surprised/amused to have the sense of mind to get his photograph! He probably wouldn't have signed a release anyway... LOL

    The photos are distributed over four pages, determined by where they were taken. To view them, follow the links below and at the bottom of each page referenced. I hope these photos satisfy some of your curiousity. Enjoy...

• Alan (AKA The Outer Banker)
• Kitty Hawk, NC
• Fri., Sept. 17, 1999

Photos taken from:

• My deck
• The beach
• The sound-side
• Surrounding area