Re: Dennis - damage reports
My brother's pal, who works for Chelco, went down to Grayton right after the storm passed. Said there appeared to be remarkably little damage, considering. Our house, which is opposite the Washaway House on the north, had a couple of Hardy board pieces down and a puddle standing around the house, some seawater in the pool. He said the storm surge did not appear significant, as there were no obvious water lines and the standing water was below the edge of the pool. Point being...we obviously had some storm surge that effected the area around DeFuniak Street.
Washaway House had a number of windows blown out and curtains blowing in the strong winds, he said. So the owner may want to do whatever possible to circumvent further rain damage. I love that old house so much that we don't even mind that it blocks our view of the Gulf a bit. When we were kids, we would run around it and make up ghost stories about it being haunted. Will be a sad day when it is taken down.
Highway 331 Bridge is open now, but County officials are not recommending that anyone try to access the beaches until at least noon or later tomorrow. My brother says if you have a local resident who will check on your house, you will probably need to fax them a copy of a utilities bill or, better yet, your most recent Walton County tax payment form, along with a signature letter authorizing them to access as a property owner's representative.
Good luck to everyone!