Before-and-after aerial view of the southernmost portions of Anderson Boulevard, the main thoroughfare of Topsail Beach in North Carolina, in 2014 (left) and on 19 September 2018 (right). Floodwaters from Hurricane Florence still cover parts of Anderson Boulevard with dark standing water. Ocean Boulevard, one of the side streets, is completely covered with sand. Photo: NOAA / CNN

By Paul P. Murphy
September 18, 2018
(CNN) – Aerial images captured the destruction Hurricane Florence inflicted on the North Carolina coastline, from lines of houses shorn of their shingles to sand-covered streets.
The pictures were shot by planes outfitted with cameras taking “high-definition aerial photos” and collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The photos are vital to assessing damage and organizing the assistance that’s needed.
The latest post-Hurricane Florence photos were taken Tuesday; NOAA told CNN that the pre-Florence photos were taken in 2014.
In one image, the southernmost portions of Topsail Beach’s main thoroughfare, Anderson Boulevard, are still covered with dark standing water. Ocean Boulevard, one of the side streets, is completely covered with sand.The flow of the storm surge is etched into the sand it flung onshore. Some docks behind Carolina Boulevard are stripped of their timber, with only their pylons remaining.Houses across the island had their shingles shorn by the high winds.Before Hurricane Florence, the Surf Condos black asphalt parking lot hugged the eight buildings in the complex. Now, aerial images show it covered in sand. [more]

Before-and-after aerial photos show destruction, beach erosion on North Carolina coastline