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Photo left:
Sunrise over the Rappahannock River on Friday, September 19th, revealing the damage to adjoining properties down river from the Community Technology Center.
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Photo right:
Work started immediately on clean-up even without electrical power. Jimmy Townsend, maintenance director, trims off the fallen branches on the Water Lane campus entrance.
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Hurricane Isabel broke our rhythm, but not our spirit or the core structures of our school. We had an excellent emergency plan and it worked! Our Cross Currents emails enabled us to communicate quickly and efficiently with our community. By the time we settled into Latane Hall basement to weather the storm, we had only 17 boarding students, joined by School Nurse Blair Blanks, some dorm and residential staff, and this Head of School. The Konstantinovs guided the translation of storm anxieties into art and staged a design competition for our survivor tee shirts. After dark, adults and students played cards and charades, watched a movie on a laptop, told stories, and slept. Waves lapped over the riprap, half way up to Latane portico, and winds gusted to over 85 mph. Our only shore damage was erosion behind Anderton House, where we had an old sea wall, not riprap. The new riprap did its job of breaking up the force of the water as it pounded the shore. Trees fell around houses and cars, but we sustained no direct hits. All people, buildings, houses, cars, and boats survived intact. We never lost water, and power was restored on Sunday. There is slight roof damage to the library, and tree limbs littered the campus. Nancy Smith, Jimmy Townsend and their staffs are to be commended for excellent preparations and swift return to the restoration of order. We are very, very fortunate. -- Head of School- Margaret R. Broad |
Photo left:
All that remains of the St. Margaret's School dock. The new rip-rap saved the day and protected the bank from the North-easterly winds. However the area in front of Anderton House which still had the old concrete bulkhead protection was severly eroded.
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Photo right:
Daylight reveals a campus covered in downed branches and trees. Fortunately there was very little physical damage to buildings.
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Page 2 More Isabel Photos |
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