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Good neighbor policy abundant after storm
By Bryan Long
VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia (CNN) -- From his front porch, Leo Bridge could see much of the damage Hurricane Isabel brought to coastal Virginia. A large oak tree fell nearby onto a power line, snapped a utility pole and landed across South Witchduck Road. "It was a lot milder than I expected," Bridge said Friday, sitting on his front-porch bench. As of Friday morning, at least half of the deaths reported so far from Isabel had occurred in Virginia. Most residents in this neighborhood in western Virginia Beach said they feel fortunate indeed. "Very lucky" is how Kendall Gaddis described her feelings on the sunny morning after the storm. Power was still out Friday morning for more than 1 million customers in Virginia. Street lights remained dark, and most stores were shuttered. Gaddis and her husband, David, inspected the felled oak on Witchduck and concluded it was the best that could have been hoped for, especially after the night they had. "Last night, more exciting than the storm was watching these idiots drive around as it got dark," Kendall Gaddis said. Darkness came just as the storm was letting up and the winds were calming down. The Gaddises could see the road leading to the downed tree from their front window. "We watched all these people drive up and then slam on their brakes," Kendall Gaddis said. David Gaddis called 911, and officials brought flares to put in the street. Many of the deaths in Virginia involved traffic accidents or accidents from downed trees, officials said. Around the block from the Gaddises were more downed trees. One had fallen onto a house, another onto a black Chevrolet pickup. There were broken fences, missing shingles and other kinds of wind damage. Despite being only a few feet above sea level, the neighborhood saw little flooding. Some roads had large puddles, but residents here said they consider these to be routine. Friday morning brought with it a friendly spirit as neighbors helped each other. John Teller connected a Bowman Road neighbor to his generator with an extension cord. John Creed of Amberly Road did the same for a neighbor. Creed and his wife, Linda, toured the neighborhood to see whose homes had been damaged and to find those that simply needed caffeine. "Linda has been fixing coffee for the neighbors all morning," Creed said. And so it was from street to street. One man picked up the paper from his driveway while a woman shouted to him, "The paper and the mail. Somehow they always get through." Everything it seemed was heading back to normal.
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