And the story goes...

07 March 2005: This is a photo of a few of the surviving palm trees on Beach Boulevard in Gulf Shores, Alabama. I took this photo as a storm was approaching the area on March 7, 2005. Hurricane Ivan came ashore here on September 16, 2004, destroying or damaging much of this coastal town. A local shop owner told me that the flooding salt water kills the roots of the palm trees causing them to topple over and die. I have uploaded some photos of damage to residential properties for viewing in our online gallery at Smugmug.com. To view some photos of the destruction soon after Ivan departed, visit these websites: http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/hurricanes/ivan/photos/index.html/ and/or http://www.gulf-shores-alabama.net/hurricane-ivan-photos.html. When talking about the hurricanes, many of the local residents say that at least they had warnings, unlike the victims of the recent tsunami in Asia and Africa. ~ 07 March 2005