Ophelia spends fury at coast (newsobserver.com )

newsobserver.com | Front Page News: "BUXTON -- Ophelia is expected to continue a slow, erratic jog off the North Carolina coast today, its weakening wind and rain scraping the chin of the Outer Banks.

The fading cyclone, downgraded Thursday night to a tropical storm, spent most of the day camped south of Cape Hatteras. As Ophelia delayed its departure, residents in the storm's tight, coastal corridor of destruction started picking through the wreckage.

The storm surge that ripped through Salter Path on Bogue Banks blew through the back end of a strip of businesses and flooded a Methodist church. Farther south, on North Topsail Beach in Onslow County, more than 80 badly damaged homes and condominiums showed the storm's destructive power.

But among those who weathered Ophelia, there was a sense of dodged-bullet relief. 'It's not as bad as it could have been by far,' Bill Glover, 83, an architect, said as he swept up limbs around his house in Morehead City."

TV storm troupers descend on coast to catch Ophelia's fury (News & Observer)

I wonder if any of them got it right. Joke of the storm was the staff of the Nags Head pier telling Weather Channel Storm chaser Jim Cantori that they were cathcing "grouper and snapper" both deep water fish. I wonder if that was why he stopped reporting from the pier with its great visuals and moved up by the Comfort Inn North across from the monument.

newsobserver.com | Hurricane Ophelia
Representatives of Triangle TV stations said Wednesday that Hurricane Katrina did not inspire extensive local television news coverage for the weaker Ophelia.

WTVD ABC-11, WRAL/WRAZ, WNCN NBC-17 and the 24-hour cable news channel News 14 Carolina have all dispatched crews along the coast to cover the storm, classified as Category 1, the weakest on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale.

Thoughts on Ophelia

Ophelia has been pretty much a non-event north of Oregon Inlet. Everyone did what they were supposed to do on Thurs. Businesses closed, people stayed home and not much happened. We've had Nor'easters that were much worse this year. So far (through Thursday night) the beach has held up well, not too much erosion and no flooding on either the Ocean or Sound side.

Communication from Dare County has been pitiful. They issued 3 news releases yesterday, 4 if you count the 2 issued last night within an hour of each other. The second to announce the school schedule that Board of Education admin couldn't figure out for over 5 hours. No regular updates, no info from any other sources than the participating organizations. Just plain weak.

On the other hand Emergency Management has made all the right calls. Evacuating Hatteras was the right thing to do. They got hit but not to hard apparently. Still nothing we needed tourists to be around/in the way for.

All and all a pretty good exercise for the county. Lets just hope that the bottom line on Hatteras Island is not too bad.

Pit raises $1,000 for Red Cross (OB Sentinel)

Da kids are pitching in for Katrina Relief.

The Outer Banks Sentinel

Officials Rush to Prepare Coastal N.C. for Ophelia

Officials Rush to Prepare Coastal N.C. for Ophelia: "FRISCO, N.C., Sept. 14 -- As slow-moving Hurricane Ophelia hugged the
North Carolina coast in a torrential embrace Wednesday, federal, state
and local officials were taking no chances of a repeat of the sluggish
response to Hurricane Katrina."

Ophelia Regains Hurricane Strength - Yahoo! News

Ophelia Regains Hurricane Strength - Yahoo! News: "WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, N.C. - Vulnerable islands were evacuated and
mainland schools were closed Tuesday as Ophelia again strengthened to a
hurricane and wobbled closer to land with a threat of flooding rain."

Ophelia a hurricane again - Weather News - MSNBC.com

Ophelia a hurricane again - Weather News - MSNBC.com: "Updated: 6:36 p.m. ET Sept. 13, 2005"

Weekend Travelers Pay the Price

Here's a little different take on the gas price issue. Note the strategy from Wintergreen Va.

Weekend Travelers Pay the Price: "'The roads were packed yesterday heading south, and they're packed again today, bumper to bumper,' said Joel Patton, with Nags Head Realty. 'I don't think the gas prices scared them at all.

The Wintergreen resort, near Charlottesville, reported no cancellations but was offering a special gasoline promotion anyway: $50 to anyone staying at least two nights if they show a receipt for gas purchased in town or on the way."

NewsAdvance.com | LU alumni steps in when the beach is not paradise

NewsAdvance.com | LU alumni steps in when the beach is not paradise: "The job of the Nags Head (N.C.) Fire and Rescue Squad is to save lives and property. Otherwise, Rick Lawrenson’s job kicks in."

An appeal: Katrina could have been our disaster- OB Sentinel

An appeal: Katrina could have been our disaster- "In September 2003, Hurricane Isabel tore the heart out of the Outer Banks when houses fell into the ocean, an inlet separated Hatteras Village from the rest of the county and businesses were shut down for repairs.

National media reports of the severe damage brought in donations of just about every kind imaginable. And the help came from every state in the Union, including those along the Gulf coast.

...

The Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund account has been set up at East Carolina Bank to accept monetary donations, which will be given to the Salvation Army. Deposits into the account can be made at any East Carolina branch.

No amount is too small, and both individuals and organizations are encouraged to make donations.

Please remember that "there, for the Grace of God, go I"."

What's My Pirate Name?

My pirate name is:

Captain Tom Vane

Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. You tend to blend into the background occaisionally, but that's okay, because it's much easier to sneak up on people and disembowel them that way. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.

Eye Of The Storm

Great pictures from Pass Christian LA. The eye of Katrina passed over this area. So did the eye of Camille.

Eye Of The Storm

WRAL.com - News - Gas Prices Hurt Tourism Across N.C.

Here on the Outer Banks the weekend appears to have been soft but certainly not a total washout. Bad weather would have hurt us just as much. (based on traffic and shopping observations only) I don't know if gas prices changed the spending habits of those who came.

WRAL.com - News - Gas Prices Hurt Tourism Across N.C.: "Gas Prices Hurt Tourism Across N.C."

Who's a Looter? In Storm's Aftermath, Pictures Kick Up a Different Kind of Tempest - New York Times

Interesting story. The kicker is that I saw to top photo- the one of the "looter" used in an add for the Red Cross. Is the Red Cross supporting looting? Was he a looter?

Who's a Looter? In Storm's Aftermath, Pictures Kick Up a Different Kind of Tempest - New York Times: "Two news photographs ricocheted through the Internet last week and set off a debate about race and the news media in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

The first photo, taken by Dave Martin, an Associated Press photographer in New Orleans, shows a young black man wading through water that has risen to his chest. He is clutching a case of soda and pulling a floating bag. The caption provided by The A.P. says he has just been "looting a grocery store."

The second photo, also from New Orleans, was taken by Chris Graythen for Getty Images and distributed by Agence France-Presse. It shows a white couple up to their chests in the same murky water. The woman is holding some bags of food. This caption says they are shown "after finding bread and soda from a local grocery store."

Both photos turned up Tuesday on Yahoo News, which posts automatic feeds of articles and photos from wire services. Soon after, a user of the photo-sharing site Flickr juxtaposed the images and captions on a single page, which attracted links from many blogs. The left-leaning blog Daily Kos linked to the page with the comment, "It's not looting if you're white.""

Pass Christian House Before/After

Pass Christian House Before/After, originally uploaded by CraftJunkie.

This is an amazing photo. picture/1000 words. The only thing missing is the tears.

Beach price tag has some concerned

Another NC coastal community struggles with the fate of its beaches.

The Daily News, Jacksonville NC
"The thought of shelling out copious amounts of money to pad North Topsail's withering coastline doesn't make sense to Bob Hale.

For Hale, a town resident, it's a matter of cost.

"We're throwing around millions like it's chump change," Hale said during a town public forum on the issue Thursday night. He cited Onslow County's proposed $90 million school bond and the prospect of higher property taxes following a yet-to-be released revaluation."

City to Offer Free Trips to Las Vegas for Officers - New York Times

CNN wants to know if the victims of Hurricane Katrina should get the same compensation as the families of the victims of 9/11. Then I read this article. Hurricanes are serious business and the public safety officers who have been caught up in them deserve some time for their families, to deal with their storm related issues but trips to Vegas paid for by the city? This is just a bit over the top. Why not use the money to help rebuild or to reconnect families that have been separated. Give the officers time off for sure but no free trips.
City to Offer Free Trips to Las Vegas for Officers - New York Times: "A day after two police suicides and the abrupt resignations or desertions of up to 200 police officers, defiant city officials on Sunday began offering five-day vacations - and even trips to Las Vegas - to the police, firefighters and city emergency workers and their families.
The idea of paid vacations was raised by both Mayor C. Ray Nagin and
senior police officials who said that their forces were exhausted and
traumatized and that the arrival of the National Guard had made way for
the officers to be relieved."

This journal has become the Survival of New Orleans blog

The Interdictor: "The Interdictor"

A Can't-Do Government - New York Times

A Can't-Do Government - New York Times: "Last year James Lee Witt, who won bipartisan praise for his leadership
of the agency during the Clinton years, said at a Congressional
hearing: 'I am extremely concerned that the ability of our nation to
prepare for and respond to disasters has been sharply eroded. I hear
from emergency managers, local and state leaders, and first responders
nearly every day that the FEMA they knew and worked well with has now
disappeared.'"

Numbers on sea turtle eggs, nests bounce back this year

5 Nests in Nags Head, compared to 1 last year.
The Sun News | 09/01/2005 | Numbers on sea turtle eggs, nests bounce back this year

"More loggerhead turtle nests were found on the Grand Strand this year compared with last, giving biologists hope that the threatened species will continue to thrive.

At least 70 nests were discovered in Horry and Georgetown counties, said Ann Wilson, an interpretive ranger at Myrtle Beach State Park.

About 40 nests were found last year on the Grand Strand, which was considered a "disaster" season by biologists and turtle volunteers."

Chicago Tribune | Flood-control funds short of requests

Will they write the same story about the Outer Banks. Our beaches and dunes hold our the ocean just like the levees of NO and our success in gaining funding is equally futile.

Chicago Tribune | Flood-control funds short of requests: "Despite continuous warnings that a catastrophic hurricane could hit New Orleans, the Bush administration and Congress in recent years have repeatedly denied full funding for hurricane preparation and flood control.

For instance, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requested $27 million for this fiscal year to pay for hurricane-protection projects around Lake Pontchartrain. The Bush administration countered with $3.9 million, and Congress eventually provided $5.7 million, according to figures provided by the office of U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.).
"

Intricate Flood Protection Long a Focus of Dispute - New York Times

This is what bech nourishment is about. Stopping Storm damage. Katrina is the worst case scenario for a coastal storm and NO is in the worst place to have one, below sea level. Yet I don't hear anyone arguing that people shouldn't live there.

Intricate Flood Protection Long a Focus of Dispute - New York Times: "Since 2001, the Louisiana
Congressional delegation had pushed for far more money for storm
protection than the Bush administration has accepted. Now, Mr. Naomi
said, all the quibbling over the storm budget, or even over full
Category 5 protection, which would cost several billion dollars, seemed
tragically absurd."

:"It would take $2.5 billion to build a Category 5 protection system, and we're talking about tens of billions in losses, all that lost productivity, and so many lost lives and injuries and personal trauma you'll never get over," Mr. Naomi said. "People will be scarred for life by this event."