The hurricane with no name threshed across the Atlantic coast in mid-September 1713, ripping at tobacco crops and sending panicked colonists inland, where the storm’s destructive power found them. 

…By then, the Spanish mustangs already had made a home on North Carolina’s thin, boomerang-shaped Outer Banks for two centuries, passing down cyclone-survival skills to foals for generations.

…Around 200 horses will stay and ride it out, as they have since the 16th century — seeking refuge under towering live oak trees.

It’s not their first rodeo, said Meg Puckett, the nonprofit’s herd manager. The wild horses will instinctually seek cover in wooded high grounds, standing in tight circles with their butts out like a reverse phalanx.

“After all that time, the herd just knows,” Puckett told The Washington Post by phone on Thursday, as wind hummed in the background, announcing Dorian’s inevitable approach up the coast. “That information is passed down from generation to generation.”

…They are thought to be descendants of horses that swam ashore after the shipwrecks.

Others believe they were simply abandoned by the Spaniards after various violent clashes with Native Americans and English settlers.

The horses are remarkably resilient in the harsh conditions, where fresh water and vegetation often give way to sand and salt. And they don’t scare like domestic horses. Facing a hurricane or a threat, they endure. “It says a lot about their resourcefulness and hardiness,” Puckett said. “They have an incredible will to survive.”

…In 2010, the Spanish mustang became the state horse of North Carolina, even as their future remains far from certain. Conservationists have focused their efforts on genetic diversity to keep mares and foals healthy, Puckett said.

…She is not concerned over Dorian’s approach. Many hurricanes have come and gone for 500 years, and the horses remain.

If they ever disappear, it’s unlikely that a hurricane will be the culprit.

Outer Banks wild horses will ride out Hurricane Dorian as usual – The Washington Post

huh

In the Outer Banks, hurricane preparations are a ritual, a way of life. The storms bring the threat of destruction and here, especially, of permanent change — of washed-away roads and inlets carved into places that used to be land.

…He directed a staff of workers who’d arrived around 9 a.m. at the Outer Banks Fishing Pier. They’d come to help board up Fish Heads, a popular restaurant and bar built into the beginning of the pier.

…They’ve boarded up Fish Heads so often that for some it’d become routine. The letters spray-painted on the wood offered guidance of where to place them: “E” for on the east side of the restaurant, facing the ocean, and “S” for the south.

If all went well, they’d be back on Saturday to take the boards off and re-open. But that was three days away, and there was no way to know what Dorian might bring.

…In Nags Head, a big Food Lion a few blocks from the beach, was absent the kind of rush that storm preparation might bring elsewhere, farther inland. There were no crowds, but plenty of milk, bread and water. Outside, customers traded jokes about stocking up on beer.

…In 2003, Hurricane Isabel …[destroyed huge parts] two revered fishing piers in Nags Head.

..The pier that Oliver’s father owns lost about 400 feet, Oliver said.

…“They ended up building back Jennette’s as a concrete pier,” Oliver said. …“Since we just got beach nourishment, …and then this last fall, we replaced nine pilings on the pier. So we’re feeling a little bit better …structure-wise.”

…While the workers sawed wood and attached boards to the side of the building, others stood by and watched and cracked open bottles of Corona. 

…“We spent a lot of time boarding up. Everybody gets their houses ready, everybody’s prepared, and then at the end if you want to sit down and have a cocktail, it definitely happens for sure.”

…Nags Heard town officials on Wednesday handed out fliers …titled “If You Choose to Stay During Hurricane Dorian.” 

…“At the least, we are expecting significant soundside storm surge, rainfall, high surf and the damage associated with these impacts.”

The town wrote that at the height of the storm, public safety personnel “may not be able to respond in the event of an emergency.” It warned people who stayed to be prepared to lose power and water, and advised gathering enough supplies to last for at least three days.

Hurricane Dorian: Storm threat makes Nags Head a ghost town | Raleigh News & Observer

hmmmm