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Kitty Hawk businesses wring out from flooding
Jarrod Page helps mop up at I Got Your Crabs. (Rob Morris)
Seawater rushing through dunes two blocks away kept on rising, and soon they had to get away from Hurricane Sandy’s surge. Most of the exhibits were lost.
“The kids are really disappointed,” Hannon, director of the non-profit museum, said Thursday.
Children at Play was one of about a half dozen businesses in a strip shopping center just south of Kitty Hawk Road that saw some of the worst flooding from the storm.
Flood water line at the museum.
A few doors down at Coastal Mattress Mart, owners Wendell Smith and Styeve Gross saw the water coming down the street. They stacked mattresses on top of box springs and were able to save much of the inventory in the store. But the carpeting was ruined.
He pointed to the water line along the box springs on the bottom of a stack.
“It only went right there,” he said. “So we salvaged everything there up and all our stacks in the back.”
Hunter Stuart and his crew at I Got Your Crabs put all of the restaurant’s equipment up on counters. The uncarpeted floor made for an easy mop up, but as the water dried, it left behind a salty crust.
A crew works on the section of N.C. 12 hardest hit by 10- to 15-foot waves. (Rob Morris)
The shopping center is in an area of Kitty Hawk where water collected through several tide cycles as 10- 15-foot waves pounded the coastline. Dunes just north of the Black Pelican were flattened, and a section of N.C. 12 was buckled and broken.
Traffic on U.S. 158 was rerouted around the flooding until Wednesday morning.
Farther north, near the Hilton Garden Inn, water still swamped N.C. 12 near a shopping center and the Rundown Cafe on Thursday.
Flooding in northern Kitty Hawk. (Rob Morris)
Kitty Hawk and Hatteras Island were hardest hit. Throughout Kitty Hawk, neighborhoods on the ocean side were still flooded Thursday. Pumps were working hard to bring the water level down. A makeshift ocean outfall at the popular beach access near John’s Drive-In was sending the water back to the sea.
By Thursday afternoon, most of N.C. 12 to the south was cleared of sand, which was piled in huge dunes almost as high as as the oceanfront cottages.
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liveoak says:
Traffic was not re-routed until Tuesday. Everyone who had to get home on Monday had to drive through that mess. Why Kitty Hawk didn’t block traffic on 158 and open the gates through the neighborhoods Monday midday when the flooding became evident is incomprehensible. Not only were we left to our own devices to get home, driving through deep water but it had to be done in bumper to bumper traffic with big trucks driving all through the deep water in the outsides lanes breaking waves over the cars in the middle turn lane that were trying to keep from stalling out. There was no police directing traffic, controlling traffic, much less doing anything to help the community. The traffic at 1PM was backed up for two miles and it took 2 hours to get from Tateway to Kitty Hawk Rd West. Ridiculous. Then, they closed the access early Wed with no announcement–so cars were driving all over the neighborhood trying to figure out where to go and there was still deep standing water in the outside lanes that had to be driven through to get onto the highway…what was their advice? Avoid driving through the salt water..it isn’t good for your car. Huh???
Barking Dog says:
Why doesn’t Kitty Hawk have ocean outfalls to prevent this flooding like KDH and Nags Head have? Kitty Hawk has had this same kind of flooding in at least the 3 previous hurricanes going back to at least the early 1990s. Why haven’t they done anything to correct this problem? It just gets worse with every storm! I thought municipalities were suppose to provide service to the their residents!
KH Beach says:
After seeing how the the beach in South Nags Head held up after the storm it’s time for the Town of Kitty Hawk to strongly consider beach nourishment. With no dunes and what little is left of the beach it just make sense if they want to save the oceanfront in Kitty Hawk.
ekim says:
Liveoak thats why we stayed home,KH beach nourishment didn’t work, tones of it ended up on the other side of old NH rd. This weekends nor easter going to finish the rest of it off. How do you purpose we PAY FOR IT?
Bigdaddy says:
@Barkingdog There was an approved outfall plan at some point. You can thank some of the wonderful enviro-groups for killing that project. @liveoak. You could have always turned around.
Russ says:
We had 4 days to prepare. No one leaves things on the floor when dealing with hurricanes. I’m in Rodanthe and have never lost property or vehicles to storms, just the garden.
Prepare ahead of time. There is no reason to drive through Any water. No reason to drive at all until a day after the storm when retrieving vehicles from the high grounds.
jackie harris says:
To Barking Dog, DOT had a plan to remove the water with a system but was blocked by the Turtle lovers and Environmentalist!. DOT can solve the problem but they keep getting blocked when they try. I wonder how long it will take before COMMON sense in the court system overrides the NAY Sayers???. If I remember correctly the Environmentalist wanted all the water that was going to go back into the Ocean to be FILTERED???
johnr says:
I was talking with a cop this morning. He said KH would’ve had only half of the damage we sustained on the Beach Rd. if the opening in the dune line where Pelican’s Perch is had been closed. He saw the waves during Sandy pouring through that opening and start taking out the dune line.
KH Beach says:
ekim, I was on the beach in South Nags Head in 2 different spots right after the storm and I saw no sand on the road and plenty of beach left. In fact the dune line actually gained sand from the storm. Beach nourishment did it’s job. As for paying for it I think Nags Head has already figured that out. You can’t get something for nothing, you have to pay for it. My family goes to the beach in Kitty Hawk all year long and I would not mind paying a few cents more in taxes to have a nice stable beach.
liveoak says:
Y’all don’t understand. Kitty Hawk made a deal with First Flight Ridge to use the neighborhood for North – South access when 158 floods. They just didn’t think to close 158 and open the gates through FFR until there was a huge traffic jam. Then they didn’t do anything to assist the motorists once the jam formed. Once you were in the middle of it, it was total lock down–there was no turning around. There wasn’t really anyway to know what the problem was, until you got into the middle of it either. There was an existing solution. An easy solution. They just didn’t do it. Who was asleep at the switch??? Stockton??? Lastly, there are some of us that whether to go to work or not is not an option.
Butch says:
Why doesn’t anyone check the bacteria level of the water being pumped back in the ocean at Kitty Hawk??? There is a septic tank and drain field or leaching field at each home—whenever there is water in the yard on top of the septic system and it just sets for days- bacteria will get into it … all it takes is someone to flush a toilet or run a faucet–because of the homes being elevated the water in the septic tank is forced into the yard water-it has to go somewhere…so then Kitty Hawk pumps this water in the Ocean –when will the town of Kitty Hawk stop using the Ocean as a toilet ??
When will Kitty Hawk get tired of the water overflow? the small beaches? The damaged homes?
Maybe Monday Morning- The Town of Kitty Hawk should take a field trip and take a look at the Beach in Nags Head …maybe they will learn something ???….
KDH Resident says:
To Russ – Off topic I know but I’m curious as to why you link your pictures to a picture of the same size? In my opinion, the only reason for the picture to have a link would be to see it in a larger format. Why would you link it to the same size picture?
tim says:
ekim,
There is no beach nourishment in KH so none of it would be damaged or washed away. The only place beach nourishment is, or ever was done, is in NH Nags Head. It looks great, was not ruined and maybe looks better than before the storm. You and others may just want to keep wishing you were correct about how the nourished beaches would all wash away but you have now had 2 named storms that kicked our butts here and the nourished beaches remain. They worked and it’s time other areas do it.
Barking Dog, Kitty Hawk does have some outflows in place. Maybe not many and maybe they need more but there are some. We need a nice wide nourished beach – that’s what we need.
ekim says:
Some of the beaches on this island didnt lose grain of sand some did. The norishment program worked to the point of giving the ocean somthing to take, Sorry guys most of that sand is GONE! Now what? Higher taxes for more SAND!keep kidding your selfs. KH BEACH your eather flat LIEING about NH rd or you didnt drive far enough, or you close your eyes when you dont want to see the TRUTH! There were 3 tractors pushing as much sand as they could(probably because no one the BS permits)Behinnd the NH police RD block. opean your wallet & PAY FOR IT!!! THOSE OF YOU WHO WANT MORE SAND GET ON IT , OPEAN YOUR WALLETS & START PAYEN I love the beach as much as the next freak but your not gona TAX ME FOR IT AGAIN! Tim nice TRY GET REAL!
Lynne says:
Ekim…you’ve had three comments to give your opinion. Please be quiet now and let others have theirs.
Butch says:
EKIM
if you lived here –you must not -unless you are blind??
Please go look at the Nags Head Beach
i know you are one of the people that said it wouldn’t last a year –boy were you wrong!!!
and it is time you and a lot of other negative people here to finally own up to it!!!
Just go look or would you like for me to send you a picture??
XZDC says:
Butch ? really ? Where do you think your “stuff” goes ?
OBX Tom says:
CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT against the town of Kitty Hawk. We (the residents) are tax paying owners who are fed up of our houses flooding and loosing our valuables. The lawyers are starting a class action lawsuit against the town not provinding ocean outfalls, beach replenishment, proper drainage, dunes, etc… Enough is enough. Im signing up with them. Please HELP !!!!
Rick says:
Pay a little over time now for beach sand or pay alot all at once to rebuild your house. Which would you prefer?
Bobby says:
Drive down to the nourished area again…..this time put your glasses on!
Steve says:
Keep in mind this is a man made disaster. Storms and floods are creative and necessary forces, not destructive. Nature benefits and ecosystems are enriched from hurricanes and floods.
Butch says:
to XZDC
sewer excess water usually leaches through the drain fields then into the sandy soil where it does no harm or little harm to the environment—not pumped directly into the ocean like Kitty Hawk does with it every storm !!!
Jonathan says:
I can’t believe what I am hearing. Get your facts straight about Kitty Hawk. Back in in 1991 when the Halloween storm came through this was the first Ocean flooding on 158. After an Outfall was put in by the Post office. This outfall can only be opened until Permits are obtained through NC Division of Water Quality. All those who have built or bought on Lindberg areas look at your surevy plat and notice the elevation. You are in the lowest areas of the beach. There is nothing you can do when mother nature comes in takes what she wants. This is the reality you or anybody elese in this world has to deal with. As for the Town being responsible for your incompetence is beyond me. They have done nothing but great things in this disaster. You try managing in a disaster and see if you could do any better.
longtimeresident says:
I have been to S. Nags Head twice since the Sandy storm all the way to the end, checked out houses, looked at the beach and even with over wash in several places, the sand held and the beaches are beautiful. Anyone who says otherwise has not done that inspection tour! What surprised me was the sand fencing was still standing and all sand being taken from the side streets or the beach road was being dumped back on the beach. The NH town council needs to be thanksed and commended for working all those years to FINALLY renourish their beaches. Kill Devil Hills and Kitty Hawk need to follow.
julie says:
live oak, you were not alone. My 21 year old daughter had an accident at the light, after having to go through
that water to get to work in K.H., and her brakes failed when she tried to stop at the light. She ran into the car infront of her. I had to go through that water,also, to get to her. Kitty Hawk was busy blocking off every side street that joined into rt 12 but there was no one in site to help stranded cars in that water, until my daughter had her accident. The two policemen sat at the light but did nothing to control the lines of cars. One policeman told me to try going back to KDH by going behind 7-eleven. I told him I was going through the shopping center and by Nolands. Everytime it rains, someone goes infront of the shopping center and puts out cones. Kitty Hawk dropped the ball on this occasion. With a line of cars on both sides of you, there was no way to turn back or on either side. I have had a problem making the insurance co. understand that. The 1991 Halloween storm was not even close.