Hatteras Island Hurricanes, Storms, and Recovery

#27_DonnieBowers

The Outer Banks and Hatteras Island in particular have always been vulnerable to storms.   Buildings were built on stilts and designed for quick recovery.   Some homes even had hatches built into the floor that could be removed to let the rising flood water in without floating the building and then provided an outlet for sweeping out the water as it ebbed.   Still, the wind, water, and salty elements take their toll and it is a constant challenge to maintain the old wooden buildings. For instance, we recently we have found mold and termite damage as a result of leaks in the 1911 building.

At Chicamacomico, while we’ve had some recent success with rehabilitation efforts to our major buildings our needs exceed our resources and we depend on donations to do the work and also to demonstrate membership support to grant agencies.   Rehabilitation before storm damage is much more effective than after a storm.   Hurricanes, of course, cause the greatest damage.

To donate to our rehabilitation work, please click here.

To learn about volunteer opportunities, please click here.

See here what Hurricane Arthur brought upon our station in July of 2014 and our recovery efforts:

East side shingle damage

hurricane 1

Volunteers from the Chamber of Commerce repainting the fence

hurricane 2

West side rehabilitation work:

hurricane 3