The Outer Banks community wasted no time in rushing to Ocracoke’s aid. However, similar to the area’s response to Hurricane Matthew’s devastating impact on Hatteras in 2016, the widespread support displayed across the area is nothing short of inspiring. The destruction and loss caused by hurricanes hurts. The long power outages, fallen trees and flooding that occurred pale in comparison to Ocracoke’s devastation. Much of the rest of the Outer Banks experienced minimal damage. Photo of Diamond Shoals Restaurant in Buxton While the villages between Rodanthe and north Buxton have reopened as of Wednesday, September 11, everywhere south remains closed for the time being. It experienced the same storm surge as Ocracoke, and much of the island was closed to visitors in the days following the hurricane. Hatteras Island, particularly the southern areas, suffered too. With an incalculable halt to tourism, commerce and business operations, islanders are reckoning with the very real possibility that their fall season is gone for the year. Ocracoke Island is closed for business, and it’s hard to say for how long. The Ocracoke Community Center has turned into a temporary shelter for those who lost their homes. Even the locals who evacuated before the hurricane had to wait until Monday before being allowed to return home. For days the only people who could get to the island were relief personnel and resources. Damage to Highway 12 in Hatteras Village halted the Hatteras-Ocracoke Ferry Terminal operations for the foreseeable future. Island-wide power outages lasted three days after the storm. Nearly every car on the island flooded as did plenty of the village’s restaurants, shops and hotels.
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Thankfully, no one lost their lives in the hurricane, but many lost their livelihoods. As water levels rose, some people were airlifted from their homes others sought rescue from boats motoring up the canal-like streets. The island’s older homes and cottages – which tend to sit closer to the ground – faced the worst flooding.
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Floodwaters in the village reached the greatest depths since a 1944 storm.
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In a 7-foot storm surge, waters from the Pamlico Sound spilled over the village, flooding homes, destroying businesses and altering every life of the island’s several hundred locals. The storm moved quickly, but it left the island ravaged from waters that rose like a tidal wave in merely two hours. When Hurricane Dorian barreled toward the Outer Banks last week, little Ocracoke Island took the main hit.