Politics & Government

Video: Middletown Harbor Master Recalls How Hurricane Bob Destroyed Second Beach

Harbor Master Steve Ponte was a lifeguard at the time when Hurricane Bob hit Middletown 20 years ago on Aug. 19, 1991.

was working as the Director of Water Safety and Lifeguard Captain on Second Beach when Hurricane Bob tore up the Atlantic seaboard and hit Middletown on Aug. 19, 1991.

When it became evident that Middletown was in line for a direct hit from the storm, one of the costliest in U.S. history with an estimated $1.5 billion in damages, lifeguards and town public works personnel scrambled to prepare the beaches and remove equipment, he recalled.

Still, Hurricane Bob and the swollen Maidford River left substantial destruction in its wake on Second Beach, effectively ending the town's beach season three weeks early.

Find out what's happening in Middletownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Third Beach, formerly a beach for the Navy, lost its beach pavilion in the storm and was covered with rocks washed ashore on its southern end of the cove.

Hurricane Bob was blamed for the deaths of 17 people along the Atlantic coast.

Find out what's happening in Middletownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Coastal communities saw the most destruction after hit with winds between 75 and 100 mph, according to the National Weather Service. In Middletown, the storm surge caused waves up to 12 feet, according to Ponte.

Hurricane Bob remembered:

  • View the video above for Ponte's account of the Second Beach destruction from Hurricane Bob.
  • Middletown resident Frank Flanagan recalls scenes of destruction in Newport and on Third Beach, back when it was still the Navy Beach, in the video above.
  • See photos from the submitted by Drew Fernandez, and read Sarah Fernandez's account.
  • Read about Carmela Geer's evacuation in her latest


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