Older folks who grew up on Harkers Island and neighboring communities along the central North Carolina coast still speak of the deadly hurricane of 1933. Weather watchers hadn't yet begun the practice of naming hurricanes, so locals simply dubbed the storm "Hurricane Jimmy Hamilton" — a memorial to the hurricane's namesake who died at sea when the tempest arrived. For decades, its been the storm by which all others are judged in the region.

Photo courtesy James Paylor

Several homes in Carteret County, N.C., were inundated by salt water.

Photo by Jack R. Chase

Church members in Virginia prepare supply bags.

Jimmy Hamilton, meet Isabel.

Hurricane Isabel hit the North Carolina coast Sept. 18 skirting north along I-95 and traveling through eastern Virginia before weakening near Washington D.C. By hurricane standards, Isabel was a second-rate storm, peaking at a category 2 on the 1-5 elevated hurricane scale. Wind speed rarely blew into triple digits. But what Isabel lacked in gusts she made up for in timing and shiftiness — stirring up high-tide flood waters that forced some 700 Carteret County residents from their homes, including dozens of Church members.

The storm left members not only in North Carolina, but also in Virginia and the Washington, D.C., without power for days and damaged or caused flooding in hundreds of members' homes; a half dozen LDS homes were damaged substantially. No members or missionaries were killed or injured as a result of the storm.

In response to the disaster, the Church provided food, water, generators, and hygiene items to members and others in the affected areas, said Garry Flake, director of Church Emergency Response. LDS meetinghouses were used as distribution points for Church aid — sent from Church storehouses in Atlanta, Ga.; Washington, D.C.; and Richmond, Va. — and as shelters for evacuated members.

About 50 people on Harkers Island sought refuge at the LDS chapel. The meetinghouse soon became the drop-off point for relief supplies donated by area members and non-members alike. Several loads of contributed food, building materials, baby items, cleaning supplies and clothing were distributed to hurricane victims at Sealevel and other affected towns.

"The [members] are going out of their way to help," said Bishop James Paylor of the Harkers Island Ward, Kinston North Carolina Stake. He added that Harkers Island Ward members were generally well prepared for the disaster. At press time, power had been restored to much of the county. Still, much work is yet to be done. Nearly a dozen missionaries from the North Carolina Raleigh Mission were reportedly dispatched to the area to help with the clean up. Others are helping however they can as Isabel's victims fill out insurance claims and wait for federal assistance.

Indeed, Isabel may prove to be the most destructive hurricane to assault the area since the fabled Jimmy Hamilton storm.

Hit particularly hard were the mainland coastal communities north of the Harkers Island such as Davis, Sealevel and Atlantic, known collectively as Down East. "It looks like something you've seen out of [Hurricanes] Hugo or Andrew," said lifelong Harkers Island resident Lillian Michels after visiting Down East to deliver relief supplies.

"It was sad for the people Down East, but everybody's jumping in to help them," Sister Michels said.

Carteret County homes and structures suffered little wind damage, Bishop Paylor said. Yet shifting winds are perhaps largely to blame for the extensive flooding in the area. Isabel initially brought northeast winds when she arrived, blowing high-tide seawater into the Down East creeks and waterways. Then, as Isabel moved out, the winds shifted south, agitating the rising inland waters and flooding houses and businesses, Bishop Paylor said.

Some residents had several feet of water in their homes within 30 minutes. Meanwhile, 20- to 30-foot surges battered waterfront structures. One Down East member's clam house "was literally beat to death" by pounding waves, Bishop Paylor said.

"I've never seen the tides come up as high as they did," Sister Michels added.

Isabel's high tides also wrecked havoc on Church members living in Virginia and inland.

"There are some people in the stake that are really hurting bad," said President A. Lyle Hughes of the Newport News Virginia Stake, where much of the Church aid was distributed. "The folks living along the water got hit pretty hard," and those in low lying areas were flooded.

Members, he said, are going to the areas where they can, providing "physical support, moral support and water."

It is still difficult, he said, to remove fallen trees because of downed power lines. "We have gone to areas where we can," he said. "We are helping members and now we are helping the community."

The Church sent 1,200 cases of bottled water and 28 generators that were distributed to those with medical conditions. Almost 50 members of the stake gathered Sept. 21, working until 2 a.m. in the dark to unload the Church supplies.

The supplies not only came to the aid of Church members but others in areas not yet serviced by the Red Cross or other relief organizations.

"During the storm, 100 percent of us were without power," said John Seraydarian, second counselor in the stake presidency. "There are some of us that are still without power and are told we will be without power for three to four weeks."

President Seraydarian said secondary storms and heavy rains cause some who had power restored after the storm to lose it again.

In the Norfolk Ward of the Virginia Beach Virginia Stake, every member lost power, with more than 50 percent of the ward still without as of Wednesday, Sept. 24.

The Sunday after the storm, members gathered at the meetinghouse for a potluck dinner, each bringing food that would not last without refrigeration. "If it was ice cream melting, they brought it. If it was chicken thawing, they brought it too," said Bishop David W. Strickland.

Members used the time together to talk about the disaster, which left half the bridges and tunnels in the area destroyed or closed. Preparedness of the members, who for the most part had 72-hour kits, made all the difference, said Bishop Strickland.

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