Ocracoke still flooded today

Oct. 6, 2015

Ocracoke islanders awoke Tuesday morning to a still-flooded village.

Water has receded slightly but there is a question as to where it will all go. The community has been deluged with high rains since Sept. 26 and the grounds have been saturated before Saturday when the flooding began.

Rain has stopped  and winds today are in the 20- to 30-mph range.

The Variety Store is open until 5 p.m. said proprietor, Tommy Hutcherson.

The Ocracoke Station is closed, but proprietor, Sean Death, said the gas pumps are working with a credit card.

The Ocracoke post office is open,  said Melissa Sharber at 10:30 a.m., who said she waded from her home to get there.

She and postmaster Celeste Brooks have the counter open but have had no customers yet. They are not sure if they will receive or send mail, nor how long they will be open.

“That depends on the next high tide,” Sharber said. “The parking lot is under water.”

The following is from the NC DOT local staff:

Dare OBX/Currituck OBX/Ocracoke Island: Most primary (N.C. and U.S.) and secondary routes have some areas of standing water. They are passable but please use caution and don’t drive through standing water if you don’t have to.

Ocracoke: No ocean over wash at last high tide. Much of the protective measures crews placed along N.C. 12 areas held. The whole village is under varying depths of sound water and tide is very high.   Standing water on N.C. 12 from the village to Ferry Dock is between four inches and one foot. Almost every secondary road has high standing water.  Crews will continue N.C. 12 protection efforts. Ferry service between Hatteras and Ocracoke will not operate due to flooding conditions of N.C. 12 on Ocracoke.  N.C. 12 remains closed due to high water. Conditions will be reevaluated tomorrow.

Hatteras: No measurable ocean over wash at last high tide. There is sound-side flooding throughout the Village, with standing water on every primary and secondary road in Hatteras. Traffic is getting around slowly. The area is passable with caution.

Buxton: Minor ocean over wash at the north end. Standing water and sound-side flooding of most primary and secondary roadways. The area is passable with caution.

Pea Island: Conditions are the same. Some areas of standing water and sand on the road. Passable with caution.

Kitty Hawk: No measurable ocean over wash last high tide. Conditions at the closure area have not changed since last high tide. The section of NC 12 at Kitty Hawk Road remains closed at Lillian to the north and White St. to the south due to damage. Motorists are urged to use U.S. 158. There is high standing water on the beach road at different locations. The area is passable, but please only drive through with caution.

Ferry update:  We are still dealing with some extremely high water across the coast this morning. Currituck and Southport are the only routes operating at this hour.