Carteret County Remains Mostly Dark, Repairs Begin

The devastation on Atlantic Beach was not what people had anticipated. Residence will be allowed back to the area Friday at noon with a special permit.

24 hours after it began, it had still not ended. Bonnie refused to ease her grip on the Carolina coastline. From the ocean to the sound, waves and rough water were everywhere.

There were electrical problems all day Thursday. Friday, there will be plenty of work for contractors, and some businesses will not reopen until next week.

The further inland, the fewer the problems. One local marina flooded, but the boats made it through the night.

David Stallings of Raleigh stayed all night to monitor the weather around his fishing boat. He did the same during Bertha and Fran. How did Bonnie rate?

"This one seems to be so prolonged," Stallings said. "Fran it seemed like it came and went, but it is close call. I don't know which one was probably the worst. This one probably because it stayed so long."

Resident George and Elizabeth Quhhorn said that the actual storm was not that bad.

"Windy, we slept through it," George said. "It was a lot like Jersy."

In Atlantic Beach Bonnie was on the war path blowing glass windows out of stores, ripping down stop lights and tossing one boat around like a toy.

Rick Milleson kept his tavern open all night, where some brave soles slept on pool tables will Bonnie shook the walls.

"It was rough, it was really rough," Milleson said. "The noise for just 30 hours was tremendous, and the winds and rain never let up. Finally, I see an end to it, and I hope that is it."

Even though weather conditions improved in Carteret County, power crews were still restoring electricity in Morehead City, Atlantic Beach and other areas in Beaufort.

Carteret County Hospital delivered four babies Wednesday night, but none of them were named Bonnie.