Hurricane Irene's Aftermath

Whether she was a Hurricane or a Tropical Storm, Irene brought destruction to every place she visited. Rains to the west and winds to the east were all part of her arsenal that weekend, as she slowly crept up the east coast. On the east end of Long Island, we were spared the rains and flooding that have wreaked havoc and destroyed so many villages and towns in New Jersey, central New York and Vermont. Here, howling, constant winds brought down trees and power lines crushing houses and cars, and blocking some roads for days. Many were without electricity and water for 6 days.

Peter and I usually venture out in storms to see what is happening and what the ocean looks like. With sustained winds in excess of 40 mph and gusts to 70, we let prudence prevail and we stayed inside all day that Sunday. When we did venture forth on Monday, we were astounded by much of what we saw and pleased as well. At several beaches it was apparent that the ocean had completely breached the dunes, mangling the beach grass, transporting benches and storm fences in to the parking lots, and filling those lots with sand. But unlike nor'easters we've had, Irene didn't eat away at the beach and dunes taking them with her, but rather she washed over them. Once she'd past, the beaches and dunes revealed the thrashing they'd taken, and yet stood defiantly bruised and beautiful.

The world and its occupants are incredibly resilient, and just one day after the storm had cleared, the beaches were teeming with people and their pets, all eager to shake off their cabin fever. Surfers couldn't wait to hit the waves and puppies couldn't wait to play. The sun was shining, the breezes were once again light, and Irene was fading, albeit slowly, in to memory.

 Photos and Slide Show © 2011 Claudia Ward

Music: I'm Better at Hello (Karen's Theme), by John Barry from the Soundtrack of "Out of Africa"

Note: If you want to see the slide show in the highest quality possible, first click on the start arrow on the left, then click on HD in the lower right hand corner of the image. This will bring up a large HD and the words "Watch this Video in High Definition". Click on those words and you'll be transported to Vimeo. HD should be highlighted in the lower right hand corner of the opening image. Click on the start arrow once more and then the four arrows to enlarge it. This is a new process apparently, so please bear with us.

 

Comments

[ally]

beautiful photos love the doggies and surfers.

[Debra Cobb]

That was lovely, especially set to John Barry's wonderful music. Thank you!

[BAFA Studio]

Great video!!!!!