The Aftermath of Hurricane Teddy

Storm debris, Avon, North Carolina

Hurricane Teddy, an astronomical high tide, and a fall nor’easter met off of the coast of Cape Hatteras to produce epic swell and island wide flooding. For a few days, the wind blew so strong that we barely left the house, let alone took a camera out. For more than 5 days, wave height was recorded as greater than 10 feet, peaking at 18 feet, however many estimate that the waves were much larger than that. Tourists were evacuated and the single road on and off the island closed for days as crews battled the constant swell of high tide. After the storms had passed and the winds had died, I took a walk down the beach to see the damage. The small town of Avon was hit hard with severe flooding and dune loss through the neighborhood south of the Avon Fishing Pier. Oceanfront homes now had parts of the beach filling their lower levels and pools were covered with sand. Even weeks later, the beach shows significant erosion and narrowing. Life on an island is ever challenging.