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December 17, 1992 - One of the Storms of the CenturySA • The Suffolk Times • December 17, 1992 One of the'Storms of the Century By Paul Stoutenburgh Some say the storm we just experi- enced was the worst storm of the cen- tury. It came close in my opinion but those of you who can remember the 1938 hurricane know it didn't top that unforgettable blow and the destruction it left behind. What really made this storm so disas- trous were the prolonged high winds that battered our coasts causing unbe- Focus on Nature lievable flooding and erosion. For those who live near the water and saw its fury, it was truly a scary and cruel experi- ence. I stood alongside a friend's home at the edge of the sea and watched the murky water with its monstrous waves batter all that stood in its way. They had a low bulkhead that did its best to hold back the onslaught but as the water rose it merely waited for the appropriate time and then broke over the top, flooding everything in its path. Flooded water spread with its vast collection of grasses, leaves, limbs, planks, plastic, fence posts, kids' games, battered boats, cans of all sorts and a conglomerate of what one could only call Americana beach drift. Wood of all sizes and shapes piled in a criss- cross mass that pulsed with each break- ing wave. The only good part of the on- slaught was that for the next year they will be well supplied with firewood. It was difficult to look out into the f Holiday gifts for those special people on your list. Bird Feeders Squirrel -Proof Feeders Birdhouses Purple Martin Houses Bat Houses Birdbaths Birdbath Heaters Binoculars Spotting Scopes Field Guides Bird and Nature Books Bird Videos Bird Tapes /CDs Seed/Suet Bird Carvings Tie Birdwatcfwr S Companion Open 7 days 82 Old Riverhead Road Westhampton Beach 288.8536 Photo ny Paul Jtoutenourgn DECEMBER '92 STORM — Pictures might be worth a thousand words but no picture can describe the frightening, raw character of the storm we've just experienced. fury for the rain and spray pelted you, forcing you to turn your back on the madness. Unseen but very present were sand, pebbles, stones and even rocks mingled in with the spray that burst and flew up in huge columns covering the house. Windows were broken, giving easy access to the pressing winds and spray. Nothing Safe The lawn was torn up, the brick patios demolished, plantings destroyed and as the tide rose its ever - creeping waters found their way into the cellar, eventu- ally filling to within 18" of the rafters. Electric washer, dryer, house furnace, water pump, all succumbed to the ever - deepening water. Add to this the multi- tude of equipment and materials one keeps in his cellar and we start to see the significance of the blow. Cesspools that had kept a low profile were now filled as the water seeped in through the ground throughout the flooded area. The land that had only known the sweetness of rain water now was inundated by swirling wild sea wa- ter. Usually the land can spring back if the flooding is but for one short period, but when the flood waters remain for days, as it did in this storm, much will be killed by its salt. The grasses and trees die and the well water becomes tainted with salt. I stood there and tried to take a pic- ture but the wind and rain wouldn't let me get my camera out of its wrappings. If I brought it out for a moment to my eye to focus, there would be nothing but a blur of rain and spray. I tried to im- provise by just aiming and taking a se- ries of shots in hopes of getting some- thing of the fury that roared before me. The noise in itself was as if I was in some giant machine. It was impossible to stand without some support as the wind buffeted me back and forth. I knew from the color of the turbulent surf that the waves breaking in front of me came from bank erosion all along this eastern exposure. The color was like milk being added to coffee. It was unbelievable. From out of the corner of my eye I caught what looked like an aluminum boat being chewed up amongst the planks and pilings that all tried to work their way into a small right -of -way between the bulkheads. It was totally being pounded by the ocean- size waves and wood to make sure that it would never again be used. Many dreams were thrown to the wolves of nature on her latest rampage. Man Bows Before Nature I turned my back on the madness be- fore me. Man becomes puny when compared to nature when she's on the warpath. Back in the pickup I was snug and secure. As I wiped my face and sat on soggy, supposedly waterproof pants, I headed home. But by now the water was up on the road in many places. Along the causeway, half - hidden across the road in the lee of a protected bank, were the huddled -down bodies of a hundred or more seagulls. There would be no scavenging for them until there was a break in the weather. You may wonder what happens to wildlife when disasters such as this take over. It's much the same as with people. They evacuate their normal habitat and Joseph L. Townsend INSUItANCE Serving the North Fork Since 1950 HOMEOWNERS - MARINE - AUTO - LIFE 800- 564 - 0933.216 Main Street, Greenport - 477 -0153 move to safer and more sheltered areas. The mallards and black ducks will find a relatively quiet water in one of our marshes in the lee of the woods where they'll.wait it out. The mice and voles and occasionally a rabbit that once lived along the marsh edge will move to higher ground. I once saw a rabbit swimming in such an area, only to hit land and bounce off to safety. Our -chickadees, cardinals and other feeder birds will just find a protected place amongst the shrubbery or bushes and remain there until the worst is over. Probably the best suited to these ram - `it was truly a scary and cruel experience' pages of nature are our diving ducks, such as mergansers, scoters and old - squaws. They are at home below the water, for there their livelihood is found. So when the storms come they hardly notice it for they'll be foraging in the deep below in the relative quiet while the storm above rages on. Again I witnessed this just the other day when I saw white- winged scoters bobbing up and down in the fury of the storm. Let a few days pass and everyone will be back in their native haunts. It was but a few hours after the height of the storm that I saw seagulls once again on patrol along the still wind -blown surf. They wouldn't let an opportunity like this pass without taking advantage of the possibility of a free meal being turned up by the storm. And so once again we are reminded how vulnerable man and his structures are when placed in the "flood plain zone." In a better world these volatile areas would be off limits to the builder and the beaches and dunes and marshes would be left in their natural state for all to enjoy, but then we don't live in a perfect world.