Soundside flooding minimal; N.C. 12 a big mess

Soundside surge, expected to be as high as 6 feet, was not as serious as forecast overnight, when winds from Superstorm Sandy shifted and threatened the backsides of the barrier islands.

“We fared well with the soundside flooding,” Dare County spokeswoman Dorothy Killingsworth said Tuesday.

High tide this morning, however, brought more ocean overwash, especially in Kitty Hawk, which appears to have lost a section of N.C. 12. Traffic was still being rerouted on U.S. 158 near milepost 4, where overwash and flooded ditches have left the highway impassable.

“Hopefully after this one, it’ll start to subside some,” Killingsworth said.

Neighborhoods between the highways — U.S. 158 and N.C. 12 — were flooded throughout Kitty Hawk and northern Kill Devil Hills. Some flooding was also reported in Nags Head.

When winds die down to 30 mph or less, Killingsworth said, the state Department of Transportation will test the emergency ferry channel between Rodanthe and Stumpy Point.

Sandy has isolated Hatteras Island. Ferry service has been suspended, and high surf has washed out at least two sections of N.C. 12. A severed fiber optic cable has interrupted cell and Internet service. Century Link has sent crews to work on the problem, Killingsworth said.

After passing the Outer Banks Monday and hooking into the Jersey Shore, the storm has created a developing natural disaster in the northeast with widespread flooding, fires and wind damage.

The storm took out a large section of the Avalon Pier and reportedly at least one house on Hatteras Island.

Dare County Emergency Management plans to confer with town fire chiefs this morning for a more detailed assessment, Killingsorth said.

Along the Outer Banks, winds have shifted to the southwest and were generally gusting at about 30 mph.

Killingsorth said that soundside flooding has caused no serious damage or road closings.

---