I didn't take this pic. This one was in the local paper. This was taken about 8 -12 hours before the storm hit. This monument is to the survivors of the 1900 storm and sits on the 17 foot seawall.
I took this of a cute surfer heading out in front of our office on Thursday about 11am. You can see a seagull headed right for his head.
Thursday afternoon & the weather station is bolted down & ready to go. I have downloaded the data because it did survive. Winds at the surface of the pool behind my house were 50 mph and we got 10 in of rain in the one day.
Friday morning I found the water up about 4 feet. just to the right and attached to that pole is a dock. It survived. The top of that pole in the water is just about level with the floor of my house...
to get into the pool which is the deck to the left it has to come up about 9 feet more. It did and then some.
The red line is as close to true as the height of the lake/ storm surge for this house. Thats about 15 feet above normal tide, and about 6 inches into the house.
The lake & my pool have the same water for now. Fence is gone.
weather station turned, but survived. the waves even moved the glass in the fire pit.
Those bamboo boxes floated to where they sit. The shine is water & you can see the beginnings of mold or mildew in the cracks by the stereo.
little bits of stuff floated around in areas. That catbox was in another room entirely. AND my cat is fine, healthy, well fed, lots of water & none too happy to see me. So we topped off her water & left her to her 2nd floor palace.
Here is a good shot of the waterline at my front door...and mold already starting.
debrisline in my front yard.
This
This is now at M&D's house. To give you an idea of the power of the storm. His black caddy was facing the other way and all the way up the driveway...it is still filled with water.
You can see the waterline on mom's Thunderbird. The tire is clean where there was water. This car had less than 15,000 miles on it. It was also in a very high garage. JUST enough water to total it.
but we don't complain. The 2 homes next to the Huddlestons burned to the ground as well. Nothing left but brick chimneys...you never see that because there is always a fire department...not during a hurricane.
This is M&D's home AbFab. It's a vacation rental. They own this one & the one next door. Of the 6 houses on this side of this street, theirs were 2 of the 3 that did NOT burn down. The surge that went through here was about 8-9 feet and violent.
Everything seen here used to be enclosed as rooms. There were 3 garages and an entryway. AbFab as it used to look under the link.
Watch your step. Oh, there is a handrail...ok. The amount of sheer force to remove this is amazing. Everything is insured thank goodness.
That's Dad's boat 3/4ths under water there at their house Honu Hale. It's downstairs is gone as well.
looking through walls
Here is what is left of my brother's boat. To the far left you can see that the motor has been crushed. The boat was forced up 12 feet into the deck above. He and dad have decided to get one boat, rather than replace 2 and share it & keep it at Dad's house in town on the lake.
There was a wall with double doors here where the stairs are.
looking through the downstairs rooms of Honu Hale....ALL gone. The upstairs of these homes, where the main living areas are seem fine. The plumbing & electrics & gas services are shot or gone & Ac's are falling off, but the furniture & such survived.
driving down the highway west to east. HUGE amounts of sand had to be moved to find FM 3005. It's eerie.
my favorite pier to take pics of. mostly gone. That building will have to come down...it's gonna fall. The pier is cut into a million pieces.
I didn't post everything I had. I am upbeat and in full planning mode. Dad is busy finding out which car he wants next. The Tbird is the only hard hit. He & my brother Todd are already deciding on features for the boat. The downstairs of both rental homes will likely just get cleaned up & left open like so many other homes already are.
Wednesday we have crews starting ripping out & throwing away. FEMA has called & told me & M&D that we can has housing now. But there are no hotels near us. It's all good...We get tetnus & HepA vaccines tomorrow to start anew...
