TH[ b ? """TK^ttACOlM Twenty-seventh Year, Number 47 ?"??? nit wwwwck ?cacow ShaHotte, North Carolina, Thursday, September 28, 1989 250 Per Copy 34 Pages, 3 Sections r? _l r>* l ? __ i | oeacnes riCKing up n* ___ A ?i |_|. |_|. neces Mirer nui i ilui 16 SiUQO BY RAHN ADAMS "Now when you speak of Camille and Hazel, you'll also have to speak of Hugo," was how Shalloltc Point meteorologist Jackson Canady sum med up the hurricane that last Thursday night ravaged the Bruns wick County coastline. While southeastern North Caro lina escaped the brunt of Hugo's devastating blow to the Carolinas simply because the hurricane ? with 135-mph winds and a massive storm surge ? made landfall near Charleston, S.C., Brunswick Coun ty's beaches sustained an estimated $89 million in damage. Jim Herstine, regional director of the N.C. Division of Coastal Management office in Wilmington, indicated Tuesday that between 150 and 200 structures on the county's three hardest-hit beaches ? Holdcn Beach, Ocean Isle and Long Beach ? could be classified as being in "imminent danger" due to last week's storm. Officials late Tuesday were wait ing to hear if Brunswick County would be added to a list of North Carolina counties eligible for feder al disaster aid. After surveying storm damage across the state, Gov. Jim Martin requested the disaster designation Saturday. Mecklenburg, Union, Gaston and Lincoln counties Monday night were declared federal disaster areas. According to Buddy Jackson of the N.C. Division of Emergency Management, efforts were under way luesday lo have the Federal Emergency Management Agency add Brunswick to that list. "Hope fully it won't be too long before we hear something from that agency," he said. But when the designation had not come by late Tuesday, Brunswick County Emergency Management Coordinator Cecil Logan said, "We're checking to see what the holdup is. If we don't get it (the designation) tomorrow, wc may not get one." Logan and Brunswick County Tax Administrator Boyd William son listed damage estimates at indi vidual beaches as follows: Long Beach, $36,470,000; Holdcn Beach. $30 million; Ocean Isle, $15 mil lion; Bald Head Island, $5 million; Yaupon Beach, $2,335,000; and Caswell Beach, $25,000. Sunset Beach developer and town councilman Ed Gore said Sunset Beach's only structural damage was to its fishing pier, with damage esti mated at $350,000. But at 3 p.m. last Thursday, simi larities between Hugo and Hurri cane Hazel ? the infamous stoim that made landfall in Brunswick County and wiped the southeastern North Carolina coastline clean in October 1954 ? brought dismay to many coastal residents. "For a while there, the storm had SCtU^!!y turned to north /lnu)?rl Myrtle Beach, S.C.)," Canady said, "but our good fortune in our part of the world was that it kept its north westerly track." If the hurricane had made landfall in the Georgetown, S.C., area ? 60 (See BEACHES, Page 2-A) ?C~ * ' STAFf mora BY EDD4E SWtATT THIS WAS THE SCENE Saturday afternoon at the corner of Ocean Boulevard West and Lions Paw Drive, where sand washed from the strand and underneath oceanfront cottages had to be bulldozed to the side to clear the roads. At left is the Lonnie Small cottage and the one on the right is the Blalock cottage. Hurricane Batters Holden Beach Oceanfront BY DOUG RUTTER Holdcn Beach Mayor John Tandy says bad luck is the only explana tion for the damage caused there by Hurricane Hugo. "It's the same thing with a torna do," he said. "You don't know where it will causc the damage. There is no reason why we were hit harder by this thing than the other beaches other than bad luck." Although some areas of the island were harmed more than oth ers, the Town of Holden Beach sus tained more damage than Ocean Isle Beach and Sunset Beach combined. Building Inspector Dwight Car roll offered $3 1 million as a conser vative estimate for the storm dam age. But he said it may be several weeks before town officials and property owners know the full impact of Hugo. Oceanfront erosion caused by the hurricane could restrict develop ment on a number of lots, he said, because there may no longer be enough of the lot remaining to accommodate a septic tank. Carroll said the hurricane caused about $5 million in structural dam age to homes. The rest of the dam age was erosion of beachfront prop erty. Some areas of the island lost as much as 70 feet of beach, according to Commissioner William William son. The overall estimate does not include damage to wooden walk ways that offer access to the beach at many oceanfront homes. Without looking through files of old permits, Carroll said he has no way of know ing what existed before the storm. By Tuesday morning, the inspec tor said there were at least 75 homes listed as uninhabitable for different reasons. Houses with exposed or malfunctioning septic tanks or seri ous structural damage cannot be occupied, he said. Carroll did not have a count on the number of homes that were de stroyed by the hurricane. But there are at least three homes that cannot be salvaged and several others tilt ing toward the ocean on cracked or undermined pilings. Like town officials elsewhere, Holden Beach Commissioners said most all of the damage causcd on the island was the result of the storm surge and not wind. Fueled by the hurricane, waves flattened dunes along much of the island and crashed through ocean-facing walls on many older homes not elevated on pilings. AJR. Stanton said he expected the hurricane to do a lot more damage to his home at 278 Ocean Boule vard East than it did. Hugo's high tides broke through his wooden sea wall and caused some water damage inside the house. "I was looking for this house to be laying down," he said Friday as he started cleaning up. Stanton, who lost one home during Hurricane Hazel in 1954, said he was debating whether or not to move his house back from the ocean. Away from the oceanfront, the storm caused no major problems. In many cases, owners of second row homes said damage was limited to a few missing shingles. In the island's three canal subdivisions, some homeowners reported minor flood ing due to the canals overflowing. A number of floating docks were also damaged. Overall, however, most property owners off the beachfront expressed relief at the lack of damage caused by the hurricane. "We were just lucky it didn't come in here," said Elwood Fulford, who owns a second-row home at 19S Hillside Drive. "If it did, I think we'd a lost the beach. I don't think there would have been one house left Greensboro Street homeowner Dick Jones was more concise with his damage assessment report: "We were lucky as hell." Due to the widespread oceanfront damage, commissioners decided Monday to keep the island closed to the general public at least through Oct. 7. The same restriction applies to vacationers who are renting a home on the island for less than 30 days. However, the town board was scheduled to meet early Wednesday morning to reconsider that decision, according to Town Manager Gus Ulrich. He said officials were also expected to discuss funding dune replacement and allowing walking on the beach. Following the hurricane, electri cal service was restored to all homes on the island by the end of the day Saturday. It was Sunday afternoon, however, before every house received water service. Utilities Supervisor Henry Thompson said there were no water line breaks during the storm. Over the weekend, water service was re stored to one area at a time as water meters at the uninhabitable homes were cut off. In addition to beachfront homes, high tides from the hurricane also damaged a section of the island's main street. About 150 feet on the north side of Ocean Boulevard West was undermined and caved in. Workers with the state Department of Transportation filled in the area around 665 O.B.W. with sand over the weekend. It will be repaved later. DOT workers are also assisting the town in removing piles of debris from the island. Homeowners have been asked to place any unwanted wood scraps or other debris in the Ocean Boulevard right-of-way at least five feet from the edge of the pavement. North Carolina National Guards men from Fair Bluff arrived at Holden Beach late Friday moming to assist police officers with secur ing the island. Several guardsmen were stationed at the entrances of the canal subdivisions to keep boats from entering. Also assisting town personnel throughout the emergency were officers with the Brunswick County Sheriff's Department, N.C. High way Patrol and state Division of Motor Vehicles. Ulrich said Tuesday that the National Guard would remain on the island on a day-to-day basis. He said the unit was running three rov ing patrols around the clock to ensure the safety of private proper ly With Hugo bearing down on the southeastern United States, Mayor Tandy had signed a proclamation last Thursday afternoon ordering everyone off the island by 5 p.m. It was almost 24 hours later be fore officials decided to allow prop erty owners and residents back on Holden Beach. During the day, damage assessment teams surveyed the island and clean-up crews work ed to remove debris from the main road. The hurricane left as much as two feet of sand on Ocean Boule vard in some areas in addition to lumber from homes and decks. Throughout the day, land owners gathered on the mainland side of the bridge became increasingly upset with town officials. They said po lice officers were allowing certain property owners past the roadblock but were refusing access to others. "It's not right the way they're doing this," said Norma Swarts, a full-time resident of the beach. "There are people out on thai island that have no more right to be out tKat-a ?Kon 1 Ko\rP M Many said they had driven a long way to check on their property and others contended that town commis sioners have no authority to keep people from their private property. (More Coverage Pages 6-A, 7-A) Ocean Isle Beach 'Fixing Up' After Disastrous Date With Hurricane Hugo BY RAIIN ADAMS It was fitting that lights blinked back on at Occan Isle Beach Town Hall midway through the town board of commissioners' emergen n ^ r mnfninr* n session that began with tears over the damage inflicted by Hurricane Hugo, but ended on an optimistic note over clean-up efforts. "We're just not quite as pretty today as we were Thursday (prior to the storm)," concluded Ocean Isle Beach developer and town Utilities Supervisor Odcll Williamson. "We'll just have to put on our lip stick and rouge, and we'll be fixed up by Wednesday." Occan Isle Beach Commissioners are scheduled to meet today (Thurs day) at 9 a.m. at Town Hall, to as sess clean up efforts and determine whether or not to reopen the island to the general public. On William son's recommendation Saturday, the board voted unanimously to allow only property owners onto Occan Isle at least until today's meeting. After last Thursday night's storm. the island was closcd even to prop erty owners until around 3 p.m. Friday, while preliminary damage assessments and emergency recov ery measures were under way. A rAa/fU1/>nl> An moinlonH ciHp nf the Odell Williamson Bridge was manned by town policemen, nation al guardsmen or N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles officers before and after property owners were allowed to return. Williamson said allowing the public back on Ocean Isle before cleanup was completed would be a "big mistake," since nails and debris from damaged structures ? mainly dune crossovers and the Occan Isle fishing pier ? were strewn along streets and in parking areas nearest the ocean. First Street was covered with a layer of sand in several sections and had to be cleared Friday by Depart ment of Transportation crews. The eastern end of First Street ? devas tated in Hugo's storm surge ? was beyond DOT's help. "I know there arc going to be some businesses here losing mon ey," Williamson said, "but there's no one on this island who's going to lose more money than Odell Wil liamson. ..Our number one responsi Kilifv ic tn thp nronprtv nu/n^rc ? iht* people who pay the taxes." He estimated that cleanup would cost the town up to $50,000 and that it probably could be completed by Wednesday (Sept. 27). The board voted unanimously to autho rize Williamson and Mayor Betty Williamson to coordinate the effort At the outset of Saturday's meet ing, Odell Williamson sobbed once as he began to relate preliminary damage estimates to the commis sion. "We've got more damage out there than the eye will show," he commented. He said before Hugo's assault last week, the strand and dunes were in their best shape in IS years ? a situation that helped homes on all but the eastern end of the island weather the storm. Building Inspector Druid Robcr son Tuesday estimated Ocean Isle's damage at SIS million, with $7 mil lion of that amount in structural damage to SO homes, all loeated on the eastern end of the beach, and to orftanfront crossovers. Hueo destroyed three cast end houses, two of which already had been con demned long before the storm arrived last week. Also, Roberson said Environ mental Health officials Monday identified 26 houses on the east end that could not be inhabited due to uncovered septic tanks or other related problems. A preliminary estimate Saturday was that only 1 1 houses had sustained damage to septic systems. Roberson noted Tuesday that some of the 26 homes may have second septic tanks that sanitarians were not aware of during Monday's inspection. The fishing pier and swimming pools at two west end condominium complexes ? A Place At The Bcach and Ocean Villas ? also were dam aged, the building inspector said. Robcrson said the beach eroded from 15 feel to 60 feet on the east end and about 15 feet on the west end. Also, he figured that water rose to an elevation of eight feci above sea level on Ocean Isle's canals during the storm. Although no offi cial estimate was available, numer ous private docks were damaged on the canals. Also ground-level rooms in many canal homes were flooded with about 18 inches of water. "Bright spots" mentioned Satur day by Williamson and Roberson were that Ocean Isle's municipal sewer system was undamaged; power outages were not a major problem over most of the island; only seven homes were without water service Saturday; and the "wet sand beach" over most of the oceanfront did not erode in the hur ricane. As far as cleanup was concerned, Robcrson said heavy rains on Monday didn't hamper contractors from burning debris on the east and west ends or from sandbagging a line of oceanfront houses for home owners. "In a battle, you don't have weather," he said. "You have condi tions." (See Pictures Page 1-B) Meeting To Focus On Lockwood Folly The N. C. Environmental Management Commission's re cent decision on Outstanding Resource Waters and what it means for the Lockwood Folly River Basin will be the focus of a Friday night meeting. The Lockwood Folly River Action group will meet Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the Lockwood Folly (District II) Community Building on Stanbury Road, said spokesperson Annie Smigiel. The meeting had been sched uled for last Thursday but was postponed due to Hurricane Hugo.

Page Text

This is the computer-generated OCR text representation of this newspaper page. It may be empty, if no text could be automatically recognized. This data is also available in Plain Text and XML formats.

Return to page view