Hurricane Matthew, a weakened-but-still-dangerous Category 1 storm, blew through the region on Saturday, leaving a wake of swollen rivers and creeks, downed trees and eroded beaches in its path.
Damage appeared to be light in most areas, but in Oak Island a segment of the town’s pier was washed away around 2 p.m.
“I’m very upset about losing the end of the Oak Island Pier,” Cin Brochure, the town’s mayor, said.
At 27 feet tall, the pier is the highest in North Carolina, has been damaged during past hurricanes, including Hugo in 1989.
Originally built in 1955, the pier was rebuilt once in 1972 and again in 1992.
Matthew moved into Southeastern North Carolina after hammering communities all along the Southeast U.S. from central Florida north.
In its 2 p.m. update, the NHC said the storm made landfall Saturday morning with 75 mph winds and is expected to remain a hurricane as it moves along the North and South Carolina coast.
The National Weather Service Wilmington office said the most immediate local threat is storm along the coast as tides begins to rise this afternoon.
Article originally appeared in the Star News. See the video of the pier breaking off captured by a Twitter user, Jonathan Rodriguez.
Waves break off large section of the Oak Island pier. #HurricaneMatthew #MatthewNC pic.twitter.com/YscCS08KOY
— Jonathan Rodriguez (@JRodReports) October 8, 2016
