It's tough to remember Bertha on a day where there's barely enough windto fly a kite, but one year ago howling winds played havoc with hotelrooftop. Those rooftops are back in line now. Gas stations toppled overby Bertha's blast are back in business. Boats thrashed by rocking waves are fixed and still. One year ago Bertha left a mark on Atlantic Beach.
As the storm approached, it didn't seem like there would be much left ofthe sand dunes protecting the island. High tide comes much closer now.Bertha erased a large chunk of the beach on atlantic beach, much more thanFran did.
Residents like Richard Bradsher have learned their Hurricane lesson.Bradsher believes the people who stayed through Bertha and Fran won'tstick around the next time a hurricane rolls around.
Further North in New Bern, Bertha left boat docks leading nowhere. Now new walkways lead to new docks And remember New Bern resident Doc Evansdealing with his Bertha problems? A tree Bertha brought down completelyblocked off access to his home.
A year ago, Evans told WRAL's BretBaier it would be Christmas before he would get back into thebuilding. Seven months later, Evans is still rebuilding.
Believe it or not Evans is still recovering from Bertha. He's just recentlycleared out the huge tree that Bertha left for him. The construction continues, and part of the coast continues to put things back togetherfrom Bertha, not from Fran.
Bertha goes down in the record books as the strongest hurricane to everhit North Carolina in the month of July.
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