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urricane Joaquin may have skirted east and made no landfall on NC or East Coast shores, but Oriental got flooding anyway. For days, winds out of the north and east have pushed the Pamlico Sound’s waters south into Oriental. Rain in heavy doses also contributes, but it is the winds that – relentlessly – make the waters higher, with little relief in sight for at least another day.

Here are some views of the rising waters, as captured by TownDock.net staffers and readers. First, Monday, when water was 4 feet above normal.

When the going gets tough, the tough get… Netflixing? Dan Albert kayaked to his mailbox on China Grove Road today so the postal service could pick up his DVD. That likely won’t happen til the water goes down or USPS carriers are issued kayaks. (Photo: Betsy Bailey)

The picture behind the photo. Jayne Stasser, who is in the background of the first photo, writes, “In my picture, you can see Betsy taking Dan’s picture. Also, the square black rectangle at the water line just above Dan’s head is Will Gainey’s mailbox and is close to the low spot on China Grove Road. That is Ruby and Moses frolicking in the water.”

The Bean was closed, though Jack dog-paddled toward the porch in futile hopes of snagging a MilkBone. Or maybe he was just seeking his usual spot on Hodges Street.

Jennifer Smart, a physical therapist at the Village Club had to go to work. Driving in to Oriental from Florence was not an option, given the standing water on the roads. The cycling required some portage. (Photo: Tim Balfour.)

The high water changes the scene – and elevation of the boat – inside the landmark boat house on Hwy 55 between Stonewall and Merritt.(Photo: Ben Casey.)

Bill Chaplik returns from his submerged dock after checking on his boat’s lines, bilge pump and batteries A day earlier, his neighbor’s boat had sunk in its slip apparently after shore power was cut off, leaving the bilge pump powerless. (As to his couture, Bill says he wears the PFD when tending to his boat in conditions such as Monday’s.) (Photo: Phyllis Chaplik.)

A reminder that weatherwise, it i’n‘t’ always a picnic along the shores of the Neuse and tributaries such as Smith Creek. This was the scene at Teach’s Point Monday afternoon. Heather Brewer says the tables have since been secured. (Photo: Heather Brewer.)

A quarter mile past Teach’s Cove Road, Kershaw Road/Hwy 1005 was most definitively closed to traffic. The Pamlico Sheriff’s Department says a sinkhole formed on Kershaw between Teach’s Cove Road and Kershaw Loop Road. The tile -or pipe/culvert – under the road is said to be completely gone. (Photo: Gary Hughes)

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Octogenarian Grace Bean and daughter Gracie search for her dock Monday on the Pierce Creek Shores of Dolphin Point. (Photo: Deb Khouri)

Jen Baker and her dog, Bailey, set out to take a walk in the Bent Tree Landing neighborhood, but didn’t get far for lack of Pamlico Nikes.

On the upper reaches of Smith Creek, Chuck Forrest’s boat house and (submerged) dock. (Photo: Chuck Forrest).

Wave action near the pier on Monday (Photo: Lee Hughes).

Hodges Street was flooded not only near the harbor but up to and beyond Broad Street as well. (Photo: Lee Duer.)

Broad Street as well was heavily flooded at the intersection with Hodges. Patty Rosencrantz watched as multiple veheicles plowed through the salted water. (Photo: Patty Rosencrantz.)

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Flooding on Broad was not just at the corner. It extended several doors up. (Photo: Patty Rosencrantz.)

Paul Slobodian rescuing some chairs at Baird Creek Point near Arapahoe. The boats are wreportedly doing fine. (Photo: Kelly Slobodian.)

Smalll craft such as canoes and kayaks were the best way to travel near the Oriental harbor.

This flooding – at least a foot deep — was on White Farm Road, the only road in to Oriental’s more northerly area. Some joked that the neighborhood of Dolphin Point and others nearby were now an island. (Photo: Paul Olson)

A boat, usually resting lower in its Green’s Creek slip, rises with the severe wind tide. Rosemary Conley says the water has gone up in her Teach’s Cove yard Monday afternoon.

Perhaps the most narrow isthmus in Pamlico County is between Dawsons Creek and the Neuse River. On Monday, Neuse River waters breached the rip rap which generally sits 4-5 feet above the water. The result: creation of a temporary island leading up to the Dawosn’s Creek Bridge.(Photo: Ben Casey)

Oriental’s Dinghy Dock_(Photo: Candy Bohmert)_

Just ahead, scenes from Sunday.

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Photos from Sunday afternoon when the flooding was at 2.7 feet above normal.

The curbed circle where Hodges meets Factory and Wall Streets burbled up like a spring on Sunday.

Wilma Kennedy had her kayak tied to her porch, making it ever ready.

Waves rolled in to the side of the pier at Lou Mac Park, and like a machine, the hog-slat decks turned them in to smaller waves that raced up the pier. (Photo: Ben Casey)

Oriental’s Town Dock – festooned in yellow police tape — was showing only the tops of its pilings Sunday evening. This was the view from Oriental Marina.

Drew Cox, Oriental’s Public Works director, fine-tunes the knots keeping the trash bins in place next to the Oriental Harbor. Veterans of flooding in town know to do the same at their homes.(Photo: Ben Casey)

Usually, one steps over on to a boat or down in to the boat from the dock. Not so with high water and a fixed dock. That’s where the ladder comes in..

Waves from the Neuse River crash on rip rap near the Oriental Town Beach.

A wave, just about to break on the waterfront at South Avenue.

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Hours earlier, this sign was positioned outside the Provision Company at Hodges and South Waters. Rising waters necessitated the move to a spot on Hodges closer to Broad Street

Upper and lower. Oriental Dental’s office reflected in the flood waters on Hodges Sunday evening.

The scene on Hodges Street near the harbor. Water, water everywhere but not a drop (of anything) to drink once you left the premises of Oriental Marina’s Tiki Bar. Coffee was also not an option – The Bean, at left, was closed Sunday due to the high waters.

Sometimes, you don’t need to see all the letters to get the message. At Factory and Main, between the upper and lower Duck Pond.

The Neuse River roiled Sunday and slammed waves in to the South Avenue waterfront.

By early evening, waves were drenching South Avenue.

In the community of Pamlico midday Sunday, the waters of Broad Creek spread to the roads. (Photo:Robert Banks)

Overnight, Saturday in to Sunday, this boat sank at a Buccaneer Bay dock on Smith Creek. A bilge pump, relying on shore power that had stopped, is thought to have been the cause. (Photo: Bill Chaplikh)

Posted Monday October 5, 2015 by Melinda Penkava