CAROLINA BEACH — The Cape Fear region welcomed the season’s first big storm last night after Hurricane Isaias made landfall at Ocean Isle at 11:10 p.m., dousing the area with heavy rains and sustained winds of 85 mph.
To the northeast, Carolina Beach was spared some of the heavy damage inflicted by the Category 1 hurricane on its neighbors to the south. (Oak Island and Southport experienced tornadoes, flooded streets, damaged buildings, submerged cars and upended boats, and multiple fires.)
But the hurricane was still stronger than what officials of the Pleasure Island town had hoped for.
“It was more damage than we anticipated,” Carolina Beach Town Manager Bruce Oakley said early Tuesday afternoon. “It was a pretty, short, intense storm. A lot of trees and limbs down; all the power out. But we’re pretty fortunate that there was no major damage, other than power poles and trees.”
The fishing pier on the north end was also damaged, missing a large section of its guard rails.
A damaged Carolina Beach Fishing Pier the morning after Hurricane Isaias passed through the island town. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
Winds and rains began to pick up on the beach around 8:40 p.m., over two hours before the hurricane’s landfall. A few blocks inland, high wind gusts began whipping through neighborhoods around 9:45 p.m. By 1 a.m., things were relatively calm as first responders’ vehicles drove through pitch dark, empty streets.
On Tuesday morning, members of the town’s fire, police, and planning departments drove the streets assessing damages, according to town clerk Kim Ward.
Oakley said the town will begin picking up debris next Monday.
“Everyone needs to have their debris on their curb by Monday at 7 a.m.,” he said.
Although there were a few trees down in the town, according to Oakley, including one blocking Dow Road at Mike Chappell Park, most debris appeared to be from tree limbs.
View pictures of the storm hitting Carolina Beach, and the sunny morning after, below:
Rob Marciano of ABC News gets ready to go live on the Carolina Boardwalk, 6:34 p.m. Monday. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
Madison Elliott takes pictures of the waves hours before Hurricane Isaias made landfall southwest of Carolina Beach at Ocean Isle, 6:40 p.m. Monday. (Port City Dialy photo/Mark Darrough)
People watch the approaching storm from their back deck at Carolina Beach, 6:54 p.m. Monday. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
Mike Lance bartends at the Silver Dollar in Carolina Beach as customers get their last rounds of drink as the storm approaches, 7 p.m. Monday. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
Customers leave the Silver Dollar, 7:06 p.m. Monday. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
A woman walks down the main strip of tourism shops, restaurants, and bars at the Carolina Beach Boardwalk, 7:07 p.m. Monday. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
Members of the Carolina Storm Spotters get ready to go to the beach, 7:10 p.m. Monday. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
Coty Reed stretches his arms toward the ocean, 8:10 p.m. Monday. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
Hotel guests watch the approaching storm, 8:24 p.m. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
The waves intensify, 8:26 p.m. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
Carolina Beach residents talk inside a carport just over an hour before Hurricane Isaias makes landfall to the southeast at Ocean Isle, 9:51 p.m. Monday. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
Carolina Beach residents brace against the strengthening wind an hour before Hurricane Isaias makes landfall to the southeast at Ocean Isle, 10:05 p.m. Monday. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
A heavy wind gust whips down Lumberton Avenue, 10:05 p.m. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
As Hurricane Isaias makes landfall to the southeast at Ocean Isle, Carolina Beach resident Adam Priest walks down Lumberton Avenue, 11:06 p.m. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
A first responder vehicles passes through a pitch dark downtown Carolina Beach, 12:15 a.m. Tuesday. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
A Carolina Beach resident takes a picture of her home, 6:33 a.m. Tuesday. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
A damaged house in Carolina Beach, 6:37 p.m. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
Damage to a Scotchman gas station on Canal Drive, 6:43 a.m. Tuesday. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
The gas station’s sign had blown several hundred feet down Canal Drive, 6:45 a.m. Tuesday. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
Two women watch the sun rise the morning after the storm, 6:53 a.m. Tuesday. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
People run their dogs along the beach, 6:53 a.m. Tuesday. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
The sun rises over the Atlantic the morning after Hurricane Isaias had passed through Carolina Beach, 6:56 a.m. Tuesday. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
People watch the sun rise, 7:00 a.m. Tuesday. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
A blown-over lifeguard stand at Carolina Beach, 7:04 a.m. Tuesday. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
A young girl walks onto the beach, 7:07 a.m. Tuesday. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
Carolina Beach firefighters pass through streets of Carolina Beach a morning after the storm, 7:10 a.m. Tuesday. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
A man drives a golf cart beneath the lines coming from a damaged electric pole, 7:13 a.m. Tuesday morning. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
A woman and her dog pass by the damaged Carolina Beach Fishing Pier on Tuesday morning. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
A damaged Carolina Beach Fishing Pier on Tuesday morning. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)