Watching coverage on both local and national television, Hurricane Ivan left a definite lark wherever it passed. Even after being downgraded from a tropical storm, Ivan dumped heavy rains in the Appalachians and Coastal regions on the east coast, causing major flooding.
On the Alabama and Florida coast, from Baldwin county in Alabama, through Pensacola in Florida, the damage is the worse ever seen. Gulf Shores and Orange Beach were both almost totally underwater at one time, with waves coming in almost a mile inland. The barrier island they sit on, is less than a mile across in many places, and at most, maybe three miles wide in a few places. A day after the storm, the intersection of the coast road and Hiway 59 in Gulf Shores was still 15 feet underwater.
Wooden structures along the coast, including one 8 story wooden built condo unit, are all but gone, some looking like piles of sticks, and others completely missing. The roadbed along the coast is missing in places, and many roads are covered in sand up to 4 and 5 foot deep. In Pensacola, every major bridge in the area is damamged, including the I-10 bridge, which had an entire section demolished. Early pictures showed a semi-trailer stuck on the end of the bridge section, the tractor and driver still missing.
Downtown Pensacola was accesible in many places only by boat on Friday, and several old historic brick buildings crumbled in the force of the storm. There are still few reports from Pensacola Beach, which is only 10 feet above sea level, since the bridges to the island are damaged, and most all cell towers in the area have been destroyed.
Perdido Key, on the Alabama-Florida line, is mostly inaccesible due to structural damage to the two bridges to the island. It is known that many of the homes on Perdido Key were totally destroyed. Also destroyed was one favorite landmark of many visitors to the "Redneck Riviera", the FloraBama Lounge. Spanning both sides of the state line, this landmark was reported totally destroyed, with little sign of where it once sat.
In Gulf Shores, a large concrete swimming pool was found washed up on the beach. No on knows where the pool could have come from. It is possible this pool could be one that was washed away from a condo by a previous hurricane in 1998, and washed back ashore by Ivan.
It will take weeks to clear the damage to the coast, before any rebuilding can begin, and rebuild they will. Some though, who lost everything, may say that this was enough and seek new homes elsewhere. Either way, the coast will never be the same since Ivan the Terrible unleashed it's wrath. You can join Unsolved Mysteries and post your own mysteries or
interesting stories for the world to read and respond to Click hereScroll all the way down to read replies.Show all stories by Author:  47296 ( Click here )
Halloween is Right around the corner.. .
|
