Let's share the lessons and information we have learned to be better prepared for the next storm. To start, a review of the prediction information indicates the wind damage was consistent with a Cat 3 storm and the surge flooding seemed generally consistent with expectations for the right quadant of a cat 3 storm. Surge water that affected St. Andrews seemed to have come from the beach area on the south and across the marsh on the west. It then flowed towards the golf course holding pond behind Murfield, across the golf course towards Golfing Green Dr. and then generally toward Graveline Bayou which was also backing up to flood homes in Ocean Beach Esates and Pinehurst. Since the causeway bridge is 13' above sealevel, the water was somewhere between 4' and 8' above the bridge.
Housing along the southern and western perimeter of St. Andrews was slabbed. Housing most proximate to the slabbed housing was heavily damaged on the sides proximate to the slabbed housing. Home debris seems to be the greatest cause of the damage (ramming). Debris behind this line of homes included large objects from slabbed homes along Tantallon. It also contained some debris from homes along West Fountainbleu Beach. But, it contained surprisingly little natural debris such as tree limbs and trunks. It appears that the debris from the slabbed housing rammed into the next proximate housing which took significant energy out of the surge at those points. The debris not blocked by the second line of housing and some of the debris from the second line of housing then settled on the southside of the third line of proximate housing, i.e. SW of Inverness Ct. At 401 Inverness Ct., the debris was stacked about 4 feet deep. Water was about 2' deep in my and my immediate neighbors homes. On the NE side of Inverness, the homes suffered a few inches of water, but the house at the Northwest end of Inverness had 8' of water. It seems that debris collected in the spaces between the homes damming the surge waters causing them to back into the homes that formed part of the dams. I think that berms and sandbagging along the southwestern sides of our homes along Tantalon and the SW side of Inverness can significantly reduce the risk of destruction to those homes from floating debris. Berms and sandbagging on the SW side of Inverness should probably be 4' high. Any berms and sandbaging along Tantallon should be higher. Fencing and sheds along the SW side of Inverness will contribute to damming flood waters and increasing its backing up into homes along the SW side of Inverness. So any remaining fences along the SW side of Inverness should be removed and no new fencing installed. Hurricane fencing along the NE side of Tantallon may slow the movement of debris towards Inverness but it will tend to contribute towards damming waters on its SW side. Homes along the NE side of Inverness may benefit from some few inches of berming or sandbagging along the SW sides.
By Al Pettigrew
Housing along the southern and western perimeter of St. Andrews was slabbed. Housing most proximate to the slabbed housing was heavily damaged on the sides proximate to the slabbed housing. Home debris seems to be the greatest cause of the damage (ramming). Debris behind this line of homes included large objects from slabbed homes along Tantallon. It also contained some debris from homes along West Fountainbleu Beach. But, it contained surprisingly little natural debris such as tree limbs and trunks. It appears that the debris from the slabbed housing rammed into the next proximate housing which took significant energy out of the surge at those points. The debris not blocked by the second line of housing and some of the debris from the second line of housing then settled on the southside of the third line of proximate housing, i.e. SW of Inverness Ct. At 401 Inverness Ct., the debris was stacked about 4 feet deep. Water was about 2' deep in my and my immediate neighbors homes. On the NE side of Inverness, the homes suffered a few inches of water, but the house at the Northwest end of Inverness had 8' of water. It seems that debris collected in the spaces between the homes damming the surge waters causing them to back into the homes that formed part of the dams. I think that berms and sandbagging along the southwestern sides of our homes along Tantalon and the SW side of Inverness can significantly reduce the risk of destruction to those homes from floating debris. Berms and sandbagging on the SW side of Inverness should probably be 4' high. Any berms and sandbaging along Tantallon should be higher. Fencing and sheds along the SW side of Inverness will contribute to damming flood waters and increasing its backing up into homes along the SW side of Inverness. So any remaining fences along the SW side of Inverness should be removed and no new fencing installed. Hurricane fencing along the NE side of Tantallon may slow the movement of debris towards Inverness but it will tend to contribute towards damming waters on its SW side. Homes along the NE side of Inverness may benefit from some few inches of berming or sandbagging along the SW sides.
By Al Pettigrew
