University of North Carolina Press, 1996

Around four in the afternoon on 12 July 1996, the wind of Bertha reached a maximum of 105 miles per hour at our home on the mainland side of Bogue Sound across from Salter Path. The plywood was up; the boat and car had been moved to high ground; and water jugs were full. The wind was knotted with salt water, destructiveness, darkness, and its roar vibrated in every nail and board. Through the glass portion of the front door, I watched the water climb closer, and quickly. Normally, the sound was one hundred feet away and eight feet lower than our home. But at 4:00 p.m., the water was within a few feet of the porch.