The authorities couldn’t keep the folks who love their beach away for too long. A couple of hours after Tim & I attempted to go and were stopped, Nate & Shea (son and daughter-in-law) went for a look and they were finally letting people in! All the pictures in this post were taken by Shea on Sunday, the 28th, and are being used with her permission.
Beach Pond Road, leading to Eastern Point Beach, was still flooded.
Another tree downed – so sad… Look at all the seaweed left on the street.
One of Shea’s nephews on the beach…
And her other nephew…
Part of the wall between the beach and the parking lot was damaged…
A park bench moved by the waves into the parking lot. The pay-loader was cleaning up the sand from the beach which had been swept up by the sea and was covering the parking lot.
Local lads enjoying the force of the wind…
Three more benches landed here…
The little house on the little rock island made it through – I suspect the storm surge was probably up to the first floor.
Waves still crashing on the parking lot. At its peak the storm surge covered the parking lot with white caps – I saw a picture of it on Facebook but haven’t got permission to use it.
Damage on the Thames River end of the parking lot.
The pile of beach sand the pay-loader scooped up. I wonder if they will move it back down to the beach at some point.
Photos by Shannon Rodgers
Some people have expressed disappointment that this storm wasn’t as exciting as it was predicted to be. I just have to put my 2¢ in:
Making sensible preparations for a hurricane is like putting on your seat-belt. There’s a reason why people are always saying to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. When we drive or ride in our cars and arrive safely at our destinations do we complain that we didn’t have the possible accident we are ready for? Or that we are disappointed because the ride wasn’t exciting enough? Sure, some newscasters get carried away with their superlatives, but many try to emphasize the basic unpredictability of hurricanes and underscore the importance of being safe and not sorry. So far 38 people were killed in this storm, 2 of them in Connecticut. And 3.3 million people are still without power, and many have lost their homes. No doubt they feel they had more than enough unwanted excitement.
Thank you, Shea, for the great pictures! I think this marks the end of my Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene coverage…
Hi,
There was a lot of damage in some other parts from what I have seen on TV. Whole houses moved from their stumps, houses totally destroyed, and the deaths which is always the worst thing that can happen. I am happy to hear that everything went alright where you are, and that you and your family stayed safe. It was a terrible storm, and it was great that the storms force died down as it moved along.
You can never be too careful with any type of storm, you just never know what Mother Nature is going to do.
Amen, Mags!
Having ridden out hurricanes as a child, I am in the “better safe than sorry” camp. It only feels exciting until you go through it, and then it just is terrifying, and can damage lives forever. Maybe I’m getting old…
Getting old can be a good thing! 🙂 My dad and aunt went through the terrifying Great Hurricane of 1938, and I learned from their harrowing stories that hurricanes are not where one should be seeking thrills… I’m so glad you survived the storms you rode out.
It still looks like a fair bit of damage.
The photos really tell the tale.
Imagine the strength of the wind to blow those concrete benches !
I just don’t understand how those benches could have moved so far without getting beat up and ripped apart themselves. They must have been floating (?) pretty gently. There doesn’t even seem to be a scratch in the paint…
Looks like quite a bit of damage to me. I realize it could be worse. I’m just glad it wasn’t.
The photo of the concrete benches is amazing. Like the previous commenter, I have to marvel at the strength of air or water (or both) that moved them.
It is amazing, isn’t it Robin? I just noticed in the third picture, the bar the little boy is stepping off of – it must have been buried under the sand because I’ve never seen it on the beach before the storm. The waves certainly moved a lot of sand around!
Great pictures. Thanks to Shea for sharing them.
I must add my tuppence: I can’t believe that people are complaining they weren’t hit with something like Hurricane Katrina. Sheesh!
I’ll let Shea know you enjoyed her pictures, Rosie. Sheesh, indeed! And these are the ones who won’t take heed the next time a storm comes around and could wind up paying for their skepticism with their lives…
Relief, relief, relief is all I can say as far as Irene around here. This was the first time I really “prepared” for a hurricane(with the track record of this summer I thought we would definitely get something!) in my life and I am exceedingly grateful we were virtually unaffected in my town. I’m glad you and yours are well also. That is really something to see all that sand and seaweed blown ashore!
I can understand why you are so very relieved after those freaky summer tornadoes! I’m glad you played it safe and didn’t have any more unwanted excitement. I still can’t get over the pictures and videos of the Irene-triggered floods in Vermont. Let’s hope New England is done with its share of weather events for this year!
Gosh – clearly some real force there.
As of last night, when I watched the news, there were 1,000 customers still without power in Connecticut. I haven’t been able to find any estimates of the number of trees the state may have lost, but we see tree damage everywhere…