Oh, Sandy

Ocracoke ventures out after the storm.

After three days, house guests and fish both start to smell. Add hurricanes to that list as well. 

Ocracoke residents are ready for Sandy to pack her bags and head out; our cabin fever is setting in!

Monday morning brought cold winds, less rain, and diminishing tide. As of this writing at 2 p.m., a little sliver of sunshine peaked through the clouds once at noon, only to disappear again. 

As the water recedes, folks are wading about taking pictures, checking on boats and property, and chatting about the storm.

And shivering. For a tropical storm, we sure aren't having tropical weather! It's a cold wind a-blowin' today.

Need to warm up? Topless Oyster Restaurant, Ocracoke (Texaco) Station, and Ocracoke Variety Store are open for business. The first two are serving hot food; the last one provides the raw materials for your own culinary adventures.  

Cooking is an option, even without a commercial kitchen and generator. Amazingly, (and we don't want to jinx it by saying so), power has not been a problem with this storm. How could this be? One thing we were all prepared for (besides being "stranded" when the ferries stopped running) was intermittent electricity. 

Bobby O'Neal and his crew at Tideland EMC have kept the power on, and quickly restored it to the small section on the island that was without Saturday morning. Tideland also has the permits all in place to use the island-wide generator if needed.

Bobby says "there wasn't really much damage and we were just really lucky," but we know he and his crew deserve some credit.

We all owe them a huge debt of thanks. Hooray for the Tideland crew who gave us light, heat, and Netflix streaming. 

Due to the storm (duh!) the evening of island ghost stories schedule for tonight at the OPS Musuem has been postponed. Stay tuned for more information; OPS Administrator and ghost storyteller Amy Howard hopes to host the event on Tuesday.

Ocracoke School and Ocracoke Child Care were closed today. We're waiting for word about tomorrow and will post as soon as we know. 

Some businesses plan to re-open tomorrow. So far, we've confirmed Gaffer's, Ocracoke Coffee Company, and Jason's as being open on Tuesday. 

Hyde County has a deputy emergency operations center set up at the Ocracoke Community Center. Justin Gibbs, county emergency management coordinator, and Mazie Smith, county manager, are on the island, along with acting public information officer Megan Shaw. They've been working to disperse good information, dispel rumors, and keep operations running smoothly. 

No injuries have been reported, Megan told me, and although they've not been able to get around the island for a full damage assessment, "so far it looks good."

"Everyone seems to have stayed safe and heeded warnings," she said.

She hasn't heard of any drowned cars (we all learned our lesson in Alex '04).

"Everybody was prepared and up on higher ground," she said. "They knew the drill, and it's been smooth sailing, considering."

The only 911 call has been to the fire department, which responded to an electrical problem at the Methodist Church. Megan says the firefighters met at the fire hall and waded to the church to take care of it. They were met by the Tideland crew.

According to Pastor Laura Stern, "The outlet to the outdoor sign was sparking, so they turned the power off everywhere." 

All is good at the church, and, in spite of being surrounded by water, the building is high and dry. Both the Assembly Church and Methodist Church cancelled services on Sunday, and their pastors enjoyed a bit of preacher humor on their unexpected day off. Laura joked "if only Jesus had left instructions on how to walk on water", and Pastor Ivey Belch quipped that he was holding a baptism service in the Assembly church's parking lot.

Fast breaking news: some on the island have lost internet connection. Oh, the hardship! Social media has been a really significant part of many locals' hurricane experience. Facebook has been THE place to get news, see pictures, know the exact height of the tide around town, etc. We encourage you to check out the Ocracoke Current Facebook page.

Megan Shaw says we should be prepared for more tide tonight and tomorrow morning, but their best prediction is that we should all be safe by tomorrow night.

While we're grateful for the small amount of damage to Ocracoke village, we're all worried about Hwy. 12 on Hatteras Island and the roads farther up the beach. Rumors abound about the road, dunes, tiny bridge, and Bonner Bridge. We'll follow up with a story about them all.

Meanwhile, we look to the folks in Sandy's path as this strange hybrid storm system moves on. Good luck to all our friends up north, take care and be safe!