Hurricane Floyd


After many years of battling the sea, it became no less nerve wracking with each passing Hurricane.  We were constantly worried that each one would be the final blow for the house that held so many memories for all of us.  Over the past five years we have dealt with 6 of them all centered within 30 miles of the house.  We were all exhausted from cleaning up after these storms and worrying each time a tropical depression surfaced off the coast of Africa.

We had all become so paranoid over the condition of this house during these storms that I had invested in and installed a waterproof video camera under the ocean side porch so I could monitor from a safe distance what was happening during these storms.  Unfortunately, I underestimated the backup power supply required for this system and it failed just before sunrise on the day after Floyd.  We were still left wondering what the condition of the house was, but below are links to the final images captured by this camera on the evening before Floyd's eye passed over the house.

The following links are to images captured by a camera mounted underneath the deck at our beach house located in Long Beach, NC.

Wednesday September 15, 1999

8:00 am   1:00pm       3:00pm  5:00pm       7:00pm  7:35pm

We were able to gain access to the house the day after Floyd.  The inevitable had finally occurred.  At 2:45am September 16, 1999, Hurricane Floyd pushed enough storm surge onto Long Beach, NC that it snapped the pilings holding our bulkhead in place and destroyed the wall.  As a consequence of this, water poured through the downstairs of our 45 year old house and the foundation was ripped from over 1/2 the house.  It is in the opinion of all those who have seen it a total loss.  Rebuilding on that site is impossible as the current setback requirements for the road as well as the mean high water mark leave us with less than 12 inches of lot to build on.  We are unsure as to what we will do at this point, but I have hopes of moving some if not all of the house to a new location should a suitable one become available.  Currently the house is "hanging" over water at high tide and is being supported only by the pilings driven to support the porch.  I do have two pictures of the damage to the house and hope to have more in the weeks to come.  Check them out HERE. 
As if Floyd was not enough; the house in its extremely vulnerable state took yet another hit on October 17 with Hurricane Irene.  Hurricane Irene stole another 10 feet of foundation and none of the contractors, demolition experts, or insurance adjusters can figure out why it is still standing.  It is unsafe to enter at this point and is still filled with furniture and possessions stored there over the last 45 years.  We are fervently working with our insurance company to attempt a settlement on this claim and hope to have some news as to our options for this house in the weeks to come.  Check the main page regularly for updates to the plans section.  As soon as we have a firm one I will be posting news in that area.

 
 

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