Monday, July 27, 2020
All taken at Whitecap Beach -Padre Island
Sand barricade -15 foot high estimated- built on beach access roads
to keep vehicles off the beach
Everything was still quite flooded out near the pier. Roads were barricaded with high sand blockage [sand piled high; nearly 15 feet high. See photo above]. I parked on one of the roads and walked, climbing the 'no vehicles beyond this point'. The storms were brewing all the time I was there...out on the horizon. Before I reached the pier, about 1/2 mile away, I got drenched. That's okay. Seriously, it's like a warm shower in my own bathroom. But, after a grueling climb and walk in the rain, once I returned to the car, I made sure I had the HEATER ON instead of my usual air conditioning. Once I got home, I had a huge mess of sand and wet in the car to clean up. By the way, the last three photos I share is courtesy of Google Images, showing you the pier before Hanna...
Google images below. Now, only a partial section of pier is left. The restaurant remains, but I don't know the extent of the damage, the picnic tables and parking lot no longer exist:
The beaches remained closed. Mostly now, for cleanup of debris and repair work. In an interview of a fellow that owns/operates a restaurant right on the beach [at Bob Hall Pier, an icon for decades], he is quoted as saying that it wasn't a category ONE, but TWO when it made landfall at Padre Island near the pier. By the looks of the damage done on the pier and restaurant on Monday [what I could see], I'd have to agree. In fact, 20 miles away, at our home, the winds seemed to be stronger than 90 MPH, which is top speed for cat 1!! But, what do I know? I'm not the expert here.
Anyway, the pier was literally torn to pieces, the area just feet away from the pier, covered picnic tables that have been there through many storms, were literally swept away this time, including much of the parking lot [washed out in chunks as big as city blocks!!] The pier itself lost the very end into the Gulf, and the blocks of concrete that make the pier's pathway, literally lifted up off the stanchions. and broken into shards as large as a vehicle.
But, as far as I know, no injuries where the eye hit land.
So, I did go walking. Beaches closed 'til further notice [to vehicles]. As I drove the island highway, I noticed all the barricades, indicating to me there would certainly be no access at Bob Hall Pier since the most damage was done there. I pulled off at Whitecap Beach...There, two police vehicles were barricading the parking lot. The city maintenance crew was cleaning up the parking lot that became a beach during the storm. [lots of sand and debris washed in]. I asked permission to go on foot to the shore...was granted access and took photos. Mostly of the vast amount of pelicans overhead...returning from their safety zone? Dunno, just guessing. Along the seawall, where I stood and where I walked along the wall about a mile, I could see that all the stairways from the wall to the beach have been washed away.
I left and walked back to the car, thanking the officer for allowing me in with my camera. [Not all policemen are corrupt!!]
All taken at Whitecap Beach -Padre Island
...Then, I figured I would try my luck approaching farther down the highway, toward the Bob Hall Pier and National Padre Island Seashore [which is also closed because of damage, and the only access is by vehicle on normal days]
Sand barricade -15 foot high estimated- built on beach access roads
to keep vehicles off the beach
Everything was still quite flooded out near the pier. Roads were barricaded with high sand blockage [sand piled high; nearly 15 feet high. See photo above]. I parked on one of the roads and walked, climbing the 'no vehicles beyond this point'. The storms were brewing all the time I was there...out on the horizon. Before I reached the pier, about 1/2 mile away, I got drenched. That's okay. Seriously, it's like a warm shower in my own bathroom. But, after a grueling climb and walk in the rain, once I returned to the car, I made sure I had the HEATER ON instead of my usual air conditioning. Once I got home, I had a huge mess of sand and wet in the car to clean up. By the way, the last three photos I share is courtesy of Google Images, showing you the pier before Hanna...
Google images below. Now, only a partial section of pier is left. The restaurant remains, but I don't know the extent of the damage, the picnic tables and parking lot no longer exist:
