The call for help came from Georgia on Friday night. By Sunday afternoon, half the American Legion Hall in Vineyard Haven was filled with supplies destined for states reeling from the devastation of Hurricane Helene.
Experts predict that with ocean temperatures at record highs and the global climate shifting into a hazardous La Niña pattern this year, the result could be one of the worst hurricane seasons on record.
A hurricane outlook released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association says the region will be seeing hurricane activity at normal or less than normal levels. The Atlantic hurricane season began June 1 and runs through Nov. 30.
One year after Hurricane Sandy dealt a knock-out punch to the mid-Atlantic and cast a glancing blow to the Vineyard, the question as to how New England will fare in the next great storm has been the subject of much discussion up and down the coast. The Vineyard has been lucky, said Dr. Jeffrey Donnelly, an associate scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. But eventually the Island’s number will come up.
Go back, for example, to the Great Colonial Hurricane of 1635.
Oct. 29 marks the one-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy. Had she headed 200 miles farther north of her Atlantic City-area landfall and then taken a left, we’d still be dealing with the havoc left in her wake.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has released updated preliminary floodplain maps that predict increased flooding in coastal areas during northeasters, gales and other strong storms. The maps are the first significant update since the mapping program began in the 1980s and are expected to directly affect federal flood insurance premiums for towns and counties, as well as mortgage programs for some homeowners.
The effects of Hurricane Sandy are still being felt on the Vineyard Haven harborfront, but marina owners say they are recovering on schedule for the influx of summer boats in coming months.
The October 2012 hurricane destroyed a portion of the town-owned Owen Park dock and severely damaged the dock of the private Vineyard Haven Marina, washing away its replica pilot house.
The spectacle of an eight-thousand-square-foot home being moved back from an eroding cliff can give a skewed impression of the hardship to the Vineyard caused by Hurricane Sandy and the nameless February storm that succeeded her.
The Steamship Authority governors Tuesday authorized $2.5 million in repairs for the Oak Bluffs ferry terminal, which was damaged in Hurricane Sandy.
The main pier section of the Oak Bluffs terminal was damaged by rough seas and high waves during the storm. The storm damage repairs have qualified for reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the authority will be reimbursed up to 75 per cent of the cost, Steamship Authority general manager Wayne Lamson said.
The Oak Bluffs highway department has closed the ocean side lane of East Chop Drive from Brewster avenue to Munroe avenue due to slumping caused by Hurricane Sandy. The highway department is working on a short term and long term solution, and engineers are working on an immediate plan to stabilize the slumping areas on the bluff.
