What remains after a great disaster is cleaned up? Memories. Remembering the physical endurance required, the hardships encountered, the sheer muscular effort to move the debris, the hard mental work in getting back to normal.

Well over 100 homes were destroyed when Hurricane Isabel swept through Gloucester and Mathews 20 years ago on Thursday, September 18, 2003. For those property owners, “back to normal” meant a new normal of moving away, or rebuilding, and purchasing new furnishings, cars, boats … whatever was swept away.

We suffered a direct hit from Isabel. Before extremely high tides battered and sometimes destroyed waterfront homes, the usual effects of a storm were already taking place. High winds. Soaking rain. Trees down, power out, generators running. Venturing out for a look, hunkering down against the howling embrace.

We look through the photographs of Hurricane Isabel and remember the hundreds who took shelter, emergency distributions of food and ice, and the frustrations of waiting for and receiving disaster relief aid.

The greatest attributes of this area, thoughtful people who worked together, helped in the first aftermath. We saw the young men who got on the roads at first light, wielding chainsaws to clear trees just as homeowners who sheltered elsewhere arrived home to see the worst. Churches operated food banks. We welcomed the linemen who came from out of state to help restore power; they were gods. We saw neighbors helping to clean out the homes where water had entered and receded, leaving behind seaweed, mud, and smell, or cutting away fallen trees from caved-in roofs. People with cold storage offered it to their neighbors. We were and we are extremely fortunate to live in caring communities.

No use dwelling on the past, except to remember what happened and be aware of the great effort it takes to minimize damage. At this time of the year, we are best advised to keep a watch on the tropics for the possible arrival of the next big one.