After a stormy past, Vandemere residents see promising signs

Downtown Vandemere feels empty at dawn—as it does at noon and rush hour. Street signs are covered with mossy lichen. Several homes look abandoned. Vines hang over windows and doors. The Bay River waterfront is undeveloped and breathtaking. Pelicans sleep on pilings that once supported a pier. Down the street, a front porch sags, water-worn and broken.

Where there were once nine stores, now only one business is open: Squidders Bait and Tackle Store. Years ago, the post office downsized and left. The port town was incorporated in 1895, once the county seat of Pamlico. But according to the 2021 U.S. Census, the town’s population had been in a steady decline, with a current count of 231 people. That appears to be turning around. A new, large public park on the edge of town attracts weddings with its white gazebo and extensive boat ramp and docks.

In 2018, Category 4 Hurricane Florence hit Pamlico County hard. Over 1,000 homes were damaged in the county by a record-breaking storm surge of 9 to 13 feet and rainfall of 20 to 30 inches, producing life-threatening flooding.

“The commercial fishing industry left (Vandemere) and then there’s hurricanes,” says Carla Byrnes, sitting in her living room, which recently, “finally,” had its flooded floors replaced after damage from the 2011 storm, Hurricane Irene.

Carla Byrnes, 75, and her husband, Graham, 79, weathered Florence in their ranch-style Vandemere home, and every storm before then—including Irene.

“Eighty percent of Vandemere left after Irene,” she says. “The storm simply picked up the river and dumped it on the entire town.” At the time, the Byrneses volunteered in disaster recovery for Vandemere.

“We were so busy helping others, we didn’t fix our own,” she says.

The couple moved to Vandemere in 1984 after sailing the world. They continue to be swamped with repairs from flooding and now, as they grow older, fixing their own home is more challenging. The Pamlico County Disaster Recovery Coalition (PCDRC) stepped in to help.

Bob Fuller, chairman of the PCDRC, says it has helped repair more than 266 homes in the county, but families continue to need help, even years after hurricanes hit. The coalition aims to be a concrete, everyday service for people still recovering from storm damage—not just a response to the latest hurricane.

One by one, homes in the county are lifted on stilts, but that process is costly and the list for help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency is long.

“We need to mitigate for future issues. Most people wait until it is too late,” Fuller tells me on a call.

The coalition helps with leaky roofs, tarps, flooring, walls, insulation—all damaged by flooding. “There just isn’t the money to raise every home in the county. But people still need to be prepared,” he says.

“We are valuable because we push to help instead of trying to screen people out,” he says of the coalition. In a reluctant voice, he adds that the damages seem to be getting worse. “Hurricane Irene triggered back-to-back hurricanes … and those hurricanes are no longer isolated events. And the trees—I’m not against development, but when trees are removed, we no longer have strong natural systems to soak up the water.”

What can people do to help their property? Bob says to make sure drainage ditches are clear and draining properly, make sure your property is free from debris and make sure your roof is sound.

In Vandemere, Carla is optimistic. She says new people are moving to their town.

“We’ve been discovered. And I’m glad. We thought it would happen before now,” she says. “We have no more falling-down houses. They have been sold and people are fixing them up—even a few that I didn’t think would have a chance.”

Carla recently helped restart the Vandemere Voice newsletter for her town. You can find it here. 

PCDRC is currently fundraising to continue their efforts. If you would like to donate, go to their website here. One hundred percent of donations go directly to building materials for local homes.

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