Irene Impacts: Significant but not Catastrophic
Hurricane Irene made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane. It was a large storm which traversed the expansive Albemarle-Pamlico estuarine system, and this track coupled with high rainfall lead to large water surges and flooding. Also, powerful wind gusts across eastern NC downed many trees and caused widespread power outages. Ocean shoreline erosion in Carteret or Dare counties was not extreme, but several breaches of HWY 12 occurred between Pea Island and Rodanthe (e.g., see above in NGS aerials), stranding 2500 people. Consult city, county, state and federal (e.g., FEMA) agencies for damage assessments, closures and assistance information. Fortunately, Irene weakened before landfall. Hopefully another hurricane does not make landfall this season, but time remains.
