Severe Weather Update #8
- BHI Transportation, Inc. ran ferries again today (9/19) from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
- Bald Head Island, Southport, & Brunswick County are still under a State of Emergency declaration. Visiting BHI is still not advised.
- Update on recovery.
- GFL will be picking up household trash tomorrow (9/20) and Saturday (9/21).
- Village offices will be closed tomorrow. The IPC/PO will be open tomorrow from 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. (limited mail & packages available for pickup).
- Useful links.
- Please check our social media and/or media webpage for more frequent updates.
Ferry Service & Trams
BHI Transportation, Inc. ran ferries again today at 10:00 a.m. from Deep Point with the final departure from BHI at 5:30 p.m. Visitors who do not have an identified residence on the island will not be allowed to travel to the island. Tram service remains suspended due to the conditions of the island’s roads. As a reminder, the Department of Public Safety does not provide personal transport to the marina. Please continue to check the BHIT website or app for updates.
County, Village, and Municipalities Still Under SOE
The Village of Bald Head Island remains under a State of Emergency. The Village is still recommending that visitors not travel to the island at this time.
Brunswick County remains under a State of Emergency. You can view updates from the County HERE. Southport also remains under a SOE. You can follow the city’s emergency communications HERE and HERE. New Hanover County recently declared a SOE in response to the severe flooding in Carolina Beach and Kure Beach. The roads are now passable through Pleasure Island to Wilmington, so NCDOT reopened the Fort Fisher Ferry at 1:00 p.m. today.
The entire area is dealing with storm-related issues and has had SOE procedures in place that have impacted travel to and from BHI, Southeastern Brunswick County, and Southern New Hanover County. This included curfews (in Southport). There are still road closures that are impacting the commutes of employees who support BHI.
Update on Recovery
Both 10-inch pumps have been pushing stormwater off the island at the ocean outfalls since 6:00 p.m. Tuesday (9/17). The BHI Club and Village continue to coordinate to push water through the lagoon bypass and outfall at BHI Creek.
Today, the Village crews continued to reposition the smaller pumps to efficiently remove stormwater from key locations. The Village is doing the best it can to remove water in the most efficient manner to make primary roads passable, then secondary roads will be considered (primary roads are the main arteries with the most traffic, secondary roads, feed from primary and have less traffic). Also in consideration is our utility equipment for water and sewer, Duke Energy, and Spectrum lines and equipment.
Here is a list of primary roads that still have areas of stormwater that are considered impassable by regular golf carts (not lifted):
- West Bald Head Wynd – Multiple locations impassable
- South Bald Head Wynd (300 Block) – Impassable
- South Bald Head Wynd @ Beach Access #32 – Impassible
- South Bald Head Wynd @ Thistleridge – Impassible
- Stede Bonnet Wynd (300 Block) – Impassable
- Stede Bonnet Wynd (Scoters Court-Bay Tree Trail) – Impassible
- Stede Bonnet (Sable Palm Trail to Dogwood Trail) – Impassable
- Edward Teach Wynd (Stede Bonnet to 109) – Impassible
HERE is a link to a list of all the roads that have been determined to be impassable/inaccessible by regular golf carts as of 4:00 p.m. This may not be a complete list as today’s assessment is ongoing.
While assessing the roads, the Village has been doing windshield surveys to assess the damage to primary structures. It does not appear that any were flooded as they are either elevated or located on higher ground on the property. However, there are secondary structures such as garages and crofters that have some flooding due to being built on grade and in some instances below grade elevation on the lot.
Some areas of the island can be pumped with one of the 10-inch pumps to the ocean outfalls. Other areas need to be pumped to the lagoons. As water is getting pumped into the lagoons, the lagoons are filling up to the same level as the flooded areas. Pumping in these areas is ineffective until the lagoon’s water level drops. We are working with an upgraded lagoon system and a larger pipe at the outfall which is pushing water at a much quicker rate than during Hurricane Florence. It is much better but is still taking time.
As reported earlier in the week, the Stormwater Management Plan calls for using the lagoon bypass and outfall to the creek and the emergency ocean outfalls to lower the water table to allow the rainwater to percolate into the sandy soil. Lowering the water table is the key to getting the remaining low spots with deep pools of rainwater to recede.
The Hurricane Florence Task Force Report (HERE) provides an extensive overview of the island’s topography, hydrogeology, lagoon system, and stormwater management tools that are in place. There have been several upgrades since the report. As a reminder, we are on day 3 of post-storm recovery. During Hurricane Florence, it took 3 weeks to get the water off the island. As a comparison, BHI received 20 inches of rainfall leading up to and during PTC #8, and BHI received 40 inches with Florence.
If you are in an area in which the water level has not decreased quickly enough and you need to make plans, plan as though you may not see a change in the next few days as we cannot predict when your road will be passable by golf cart. There have been several instances of folks who have found rides out of flooded areas using social media (BHI Facebook groups).
As roads are being cleared of water, Public Works is coming behind to sweep the roads of debris. The Village started spraying for mosquitos this morning as the standing water is a prime breeding area. Not all mosquitos carry diseases, but since there is a possibility, they could, this measure is taken to protect the public’s health.
Trash Pickup
The Village’s contractor, GFL will be picking up household trash tomorrow (9/20) and Saturday (9/21). Please make sure you put out your YES sign if you have waste in your bins.
Village Offices Closed Tomorrow (9/20)
Village offices remain closed tomorrow (9/20) with office staff working remotely. You may contact them by email or phone (directory).
The Island Package Center and Post Office will be open tomorrow from 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. USPS mail and packages will be available for pick up and any packages that arrived at the IPC before the storm. Check the package tracker (HERE) to determine if your packages made it there.
Helpful Links
- Click Here to See Latest Brunswick County Road Conditions and Closures in Real-Time
- North Carolina Department of Transportation‘s DriveNC.gov map (using the Potential Tropical Cyclone filter). If you click on the pin, you will see the date that the road is expected to be repaired.
- Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office, NC’s social media pages and mobile app.
- Bald Head Island Transportation, Inc. website.
- Barge website
- Island Directory
- Village social media channels
- Southport Emergency Information
- Brunswick County PTC #8 Updates
- Village Emergency Preparedness webpage (what did you forget to do before this event?)
Updates on Social Media & Webpage
Continue to check our social media and/or media webpage for more frequent updates We aim to provide an email blast update every morning and evening as we recover from this event.