Mop-up begins after Dennis sweeps Gulf Coast

updated 10:05 p.m. ET July 11, 2005

NAVARRE BEACH, Fla. - The first hard look at the spot where Hurricane Dennis rolled ashore revealed a messy patchwork of buckled roads, tattered roofs, downed power lines, and washed-out beaches — damage accepted by storm-weary residents as mercifully moderate.

But the damage in more distant flooded villages and rural towns provides a glimpse of the possible misery to come as the hurricane’s remnants sweep through the South.

“It’s total devastation,” said Steve Dunbar, who stood in muck left behind when chest-deep chocolate-brown water filled his tavern and the rest of the tiny fishing village of St. Marks, 175 miles east of where 120-mph Dennis roared ashore Sunday afternoon.

The town of 325 people 20 miles south of Tallahassee had been known as one of Florida’s most scenic spots, where tourists could sit on the porch of the famed Posey’s Oyster Bar, drink a few beers and watch the sun set over the fishing fleet.

‘Interior by Dennis’
Now its handful of restaurants, taverns, the post office and lone grocery store were filled with water and mud from the receding floods, the electricity was out, and the streets were littered with beer coolers, tables, chairs and even a bar.

“I’m going to put up a sign, ‘Interior by Dennis,”’ joked Dunbar, who planned to open again in a few days, even though he doesn’t have insurance. “We’re not going to quit.”

As Dennis moved north and became a tropical depression, it dumped anywhere from 3 to 8 inches of rain over Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia, and was expected to continue causing the threat of flooding and tornadoes as it stalled over the Ohio Valley.

Some of the worst came as Dennis marched up through the heart of Georgia, dumping 8 inches of rain in 24 hours in some areas and forcing hundreds to evacuate.

In Mableton, Ga., Mary Anne Lunsford was up before dawn Monday watching television news about Dennis, when her dog ran inside with feet soaking wet.

‘Never thought it would be me’
Lunsford followed the pooch tracks downstairs and saw the water destruction wasn’t just on TV but throughout her neighborhood. Her kitchen was under 11 inches of water and a basement office and two cars in the driveway were totally submerged.

“I never dreamed in my lifetime this would happen to me,” she said. “I’ve seen it on TV a million times, but I never thought it would be me, never.”

A far different flood was emerging on the highways, where some of the 1.8 million who heeded Dennis’ evacuations returned home, with not enough gas to go around. There were widespread reports of gas shortages in northwest Florida and southwest Alabama, where troopers said there was no gas to be found along an 80-mile stretch of Interstate 65.

Dennis was a powerful, though mercifully swift storm that weakened and made a right turn just before making landfall, sparing the city Pensacola and other heavily populated parts of the Panhandle. It instead made landfall between less populous Pensacola Beach and Navarre Beach.

Its relatively small size — with hurricane winds extending just 40 miles — also kept Dennis from becoming another Ivan, which killed 29 people in the Panhandle and caused $7 billion in damage across the South last year.

MORE FROM WEATHER NEWS

Weather News Section Front

National temperature set at ‘broil’ 2006 forecast: 4-6 'major' hurricanes Hurricane tip: Don't focus on black line Weather News Section Front   Add Weather News headlines to your news reader: