On Friday, August 20, two days before “Hurricane” Henri was expected – the first hurricane in 30 years to actually make a landing on Block Island, town officials and emergency management were planning for the worst on Block Island.Members of the Highways Department removed the stairs from the two southernmost “walk-overs” over the revetment to the beach below on Corn Neck Road. An unusual amount of sand had built up at the bases of the stairs, necessitating the use of a bulldozer. Highways employee Joe Pokraka told The Times that a couple of years ago, when the stairs hadn’t been moved, one broke loose and ended up at the other end of the beach during a storm, and had to be rebuilt.Staff at the Harbors Department made sure visiting boaters that couldn’t leave were safely on moorings, and there were no incidents.
The Block Island Island Power Company brought in crews and trucks from off-island. The police chief got the message out to mainland news outlets warning tourists not to come, and vacationers scrambled to adjust their plans for departures and arrivals.
But Saturday was business as usual – a beautiful beach day. The only sign of something
