'Just another storm' to residents

Corey Case and Caleb Jones, both 14, have made a tradition out of playing in flooding on David Avenue in the Northwoods subdivision of Jacksonville.

The two boys stayed at the Case home on David Avenue anticipating the Saturday morning fun, Corey's mom, Lisa Case, said.

"Normally David floods and is like a pool, but this time it didn't. ... My son was disappointed actually," Case said as she cleaned her yard as winds from Tropical Storm Hanna began to die down.

Case has seen Hurricanes Bertha, Fran, Dennis, Ophelia and more come through Onslow County, but still prepared a little for Hanna by purchasing food and water just in case, she said.

Darlene Milne of Richlands was out shopping Saturday morning, fighting the last of the wind to put her groceries in her vehicle.

"I grew up on the boardwalk of New Jersey where hurricanes came in and tore it up every year, so I was not really too disturbed by it," she said.

The family lives in a doublewide, she said, and her children slept through most of the night with her son, only waking up at 4 a.m. when the wind began to pick up.

"I was more concerned about a tornado than a hurricane," Milne said.

John Finlay, also of Richlands, said Hanna was just "another storm."

"I slept through the night and woke up and everything seemed OK," said Finlay, who was glad to see people prepared for the storm. "People were more aware of what was going on."

Most tourists vacationing in Surf City rode out the storm, said Brandon Ward with Ward Realty.

"Most everybody (renting) stayed, and nobody canceled," he said.

North Topsail Beach resident Lib Skipper said her flowers looked a little beaten down and one small piece of siding under her home was loose, but her home fared well other than needing the sand rinsed off.

"(The house) was rocking and rolling around 3:30 this morning, but I have hurricane shutters and I felt very safe with them. I wouldn't stay for a storm much stronger than this was though," she said.

Raeford Millis was glad to see his shrimp boat, the Miss Caitlin, still at Millis Seafood on Wheeler Creek in Sneads Ferry.

"My boat is fine, it looks like everybody come through it OK," he said. "This is the safest harbor we have - and we didn't get a lot of rain, and the wind and storm surge wasn't bad. The tide might be a bit higher than normal, but not bad."

There were around 25 extra shrimp trawlers and fishing boats moved there from Sneads Ferry, Hampstead and even the Swansboro area, because it is one of the only inland safe harbor areas left for fishermen, Jeremy Edens said.

Swansboro resident Lisa Maness said she and her family felt fortunate the morning after Hanna. Her home was not damaged and her family slept well through the night, she said.

"To have such a small storm, we were lucky. It could have been so much worse," said Maness, who was already cleaning up twigs and leaves from her yard by 9:30 a.m.

Maness only lost power to her home for a few hours - a small inconvenience that she didn't mind.

"I've lived in the Caribbean and experienced Category 5 storms before," she said. "This was a blessing."

Marty Proctor, owner of Church Street Deli & Coffee in downtown Swansboro, was hosing sea spray off the tables and chairs outside his restaurant Saturday morning, and said both his business and the town lucked out with the storm.

"Mostly all we're dealing with is cleanup. We lost power for about three hours, but this wasn't bad at all," Proctor said. "I thank God for it."

Onslow County has seen thunderstorms worse than Tropical Storm Hanna, Southwest resident Bill Thomas said.

"I think we lost power for about 40 minutes. ... The minute it went off, you could see Jones-Onslow running up and down the road," he said.

Brandon Keyes was out walking through the Gateway subdivision on Blue Creek Road taking in the damage, and lack thereof, by 10:30 Saturday morning.

"Nothing really bad," he said pointing out a downed tree up the road. "I'm actually surprised. Nice to see nothing broke."

While Hanna wasn't as destructive as many storms that have passsed through Onslow County, Case is certain residents will still prepare.

"I think people are scared not to prepare because you don't know what's going to happen until the last minute," she said.

Staff writers Timmi Toler and Suzanne Ulbrich contributed to this report. Contact Jacksonville/Onslow County reporter Amanda Hickey at 910-219-8461. Visit www.jdnews.com to comment on this report.