I live just east of New Bern, the eyewall was about 20-30 miles east of us.
There was less damage in New Bern than there was with Fran. The real problem
was the surge. My friends father lives in Sealevel which went through the
eye and he lives in a house built right after the 33 hurricane. The flooding
was worse than the 33 hurricane. And the 33 storm was the worst in living
memory in that area. The 33 storm created Bardens Inlet at Cape Lookout. As
a surge example: for hours before landfall the winds where NE in New Bern,
the Neuse River runs NE at the mouth and water was rushing to New Bern.
After the eye passed and the wind began to shift all that water headed back
down river which it would have done on its own but this time it was aided by
high winds. This caused extensive flooding at Adam's Creek. There was
probably a similar scenario farther down east. The wind really did not cause
that many problems on its own. By the way there is not a tree over 20 feet
on the Outer Banks. Never was, never will be.

"Mike1" wrote in message
...
Icebound wrote:

Here we have a "weak" hurricane, well advertised for a week... track and
landfall intensity pretty accurately forecast.... and yet we have 15
deaths (http://www.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2003...197314-cp.html)
and a whole lot of close calls.

It may be bust as compared to category 5 at landfall, but still hardly a
"bust" for those affected.


The question is: Why were they affected?

Fabian delivered wind gusts over 130mph to Bermuda, yet there was little
damage. Isabel's peak wind gusts ashore was barely over 100mph, yet
according to the news, 75% of the property in northeastern North
Carolina suffered "major property damage". Figuring that coastal
flooding can only represent a small portion of that, that means that
most of this was wind damage.

What we have here is not a storm problem but an idiot problem:

* Idiots who don't prune the 120ft trees on their property.
* Idiots who don't pick up their yard.
* Idiots who build elevated slap-board porches enclosed by screen mesh.
* Idiots who living in plywood houses with aluminum siding that a
cross-eyed stare could destroy.

....so in even a weak storm, the air is filled with flying crap.

--

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