Sussex faces off against Sandy
As the Cape Gazette goes to press, the Cape Region is hunkering down for what may be the worst storm in 50 years. Mandatory evacuation is in effect, but Gov. Jack Markell’s order came as thousands of people were strolling Rehoboth Avenue, enjoying the resort’s popular Sea Witch festival.
There is really nothing quite like Sea Witch, when Rehoboth brims with imagination, a bright, crisp energy and children of all ages. As day turned to evening, show girls, monkeys, and ghouls of all description crowded restaurants; locals and visitors alike strolled the Boardwalk, caught in a warm, summer-like breeze that seemed to contradict the threat of the impending storm.
For a moment, in Rehoboth, time stopped.
But the storm didn’t.
By sunrise Sunday, high tide and roaring seas drove sea foam all the way up the beach to the dune in Rehoboth Beach, and parts of Savannah Road were flooding.
Police had already closed part of Route 1, south of Dewey Beach.
Experts have been meeting for years to develop evacuation plans for a severe storm, yet the plans have gotten little traction with the public, probably because hurricane after hurricane – including last year’s Irene – has bypassed our region.
People who live here just don’t believe the storm is coming or that it will be as dangerous as forecasters predict.
This storm will largely have passed by the time this edition of the Cape Gazette is on newsstands, but many of our usual readers are likely to be without power. Recovery might take a week or longer.
It’s really too late for a wakeup call. We in the Cape Retion love to live near the water, but living here presents danger to all of us.
The most important words of the governor’s order might well be these:
“People have to take personal responsibility here.”
Everyone – those who evacuate and those who ride out the storm – will have to summon all the independence, ingenuity and self-reliance Americans and Sussex Countians are famous for to deal with this powerful storm and its aftermath.
