Here’s how the Grand Strand is weathering the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias
Hurricane Isaias may have only been an hours-long storm, but Myrtle Beach area residents and crews have spent much of Tuesday morning cleaning up the damage left in its aftermath.
With the Cherry Grove section of North Myrtle Beach hit hardest by the Category 1 storm Monday night, crews were out at sunrise cleaning up debris left in the waterway and along the streets. While the area saw significant flooding caused by the storm surge, officials say at one point Cherry Grove was under about four-feet of water.
The significant storm surge, mixed with high tide Monday evening also resulted in about 115 turtles nested on the beach drowning. The turtles were found recently hatched and dead under about four-feet of sand.
“They either suffocated or drowned last night,” Linda Mataya with North Myrtle Beach Sea Turtle Patrol said. “The hatchlings were ready to emerge, but apparently, they were all ready last night when the surge hit.”
The effects of the storm were also felt on many homes in the North Myrtle Beach area.
Jan and Barry Nelson spent the morning emptying out their garage, which was flooded Monday night, and hosing debris from their dock, which floats on the canal leading to Hog Island. The couple had traveled from High Point, North Carolina to prepare their house from the storm days prior.
“It hasn’t been this bad in terms of water damage since Hurricane Matthew,” Jan Nelson said, with her husband adding, “I’ve been coming down here since I was four and I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Also in Cherry Grove, Sea Cabins Pier was discovered to be missing a section of its structure from the high winds. Swimmers are advised to stay out of the water north of Cherry Grove Pier with debris from the pier scattered along the beach and washing up on the shore.
David Childs and his family had to evacuate their 29th Avenue North residence in Cherry Grove when water started to come inside.
“You hoped it stopped, but it just kept rising,” he said.
Some of the family had to wade through about 5 feet of water, carrying a toddler, to get to safety at a neighbor’s house across Duffy Street, Childs said. They then sent a small boat across the street to help others get to drier ground.
The storm surge had receded about 12 hours after Hurricane Isaias passed through the area, but Childs still had a pool of standing water in his front yard. The family worked to salvage items from their home and load them into packed cars.
“We got about 12 inches of water throughout the house,” Childs said.
North Myrtle Beach crews have been out on the beach using chainsaws and cranes to remove the wood and other debris Tuesday morning, while onlookers took pictures and walked along the littered beach. Others sprawled out with their beach chairs to get some sun.
While Apache Pier near North Myrtle Beach also experienced some damage, Springmaid Pier in Myrtle Beach appeared to have successfully weathered the storm. The newly constructed pier reopened to the public in July years being destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in 2016.
A building on Apache Pier was damaged as Hurricane Isaias moved into the area Monday night. A yellow roof of a building on the pier was seen waving in the wind. The roof was nearly separated from the rest of the building.
Apache Pier is a popular spot between Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach.
Along the shore in Myrtle Beach, dozens strolled the beach picking up shells and items that washed in, while crews and local shop owners were stationed along Ocean Boulevard cleaning up tree debris and garbage caused by the hurricane-force winds and storm surge.
With portions of the Boulevard flooding late Monday night, Myrtle Beach crews worked to remove the sand washed ashore in the storm surge at the 3rd Ave. South beach access.
“It was like a river out there from the beach to Ocean Boulevard,” said Claudio Ovideo who owns nearby McAdoo’s.
He said the water was about a foot deep and ran from the oceanfront to Ocean Boulevard as Hurricane Isaias moved through the area on Monday night. While his restaurant is called the Cat 5 Catina, it wasn’t significantly damaged. A fence was knocked down and sand had washed onto the deck area. There was also debris scattered on the property.
“Had this thing had more power and hit south, we’re probably looking at a larger storm surge,” Ovideo said. “We got lucky.”
Officials were also assessing some flooding damage at Family Kingdom at 4th Ave South. Most of the structures appeared OK, but crews worked to pick up debris around the park. The popular amusement had storm surge flooding on Monday night, but the water was gone by Tuesday morning.
Murrells Inlet resident Sharon Hilton said she was out exploring in Myrtle Beach Tuesday morning after hearing the north end saw more flooding than the inlet. During the storm, she said rain filled her empty pool about a quarter of the way, but while no damage was done to her home, she said there was some flooding with water about eight-feet up her driveway.
St. Lucie, Florida, resident Audrey Mahaney had a much different experience. Mahaney was traveling to Myrtle Beach with her family to start their vacation when the storm hit, noting the hurricane was stronger than what she had expected.
“It was just like pouring down, I was just trying to stay on the road. We hydroplaned slightly three times,” Mahaney said. “I was so tense, you know when you’re driving in bad weather. I was just gripping the steering wheel.”
While Iasais had weakened by around 2 a.m. after making landfall in North Carolina, the effects of the storm could still be felt days from now with flooding possible in area rivers. Forecasters say minor flooding is possible in the Waccamaw River in Conway, with high tide Tuesday evening causing minor coastal flooding.
Conway Spokeswoman June Wood said the Waccamaw River could reach moderate flood status in the next couple of days. But, Conway officials do not expect any road closures or flooded homes.
This story was originally published August 4, 2020 at 11:06 AM.
