Smith Island changed course after devastation of Hurricane Sandy in 2012

For the people of Smith Island, weather guides a way of life as much as the tranquil atmosphere for which it has become known. Hurricanes with names like Hazel, Agnes, Isabel and Irene become part of the zeitgeist, never fading from memory as recollections of their destructive and unrelenting power are passed from one generation to the next. It is told in the context of high tides in the great watermen tradition, an industry that has become an unspoiled culture on the island like its own Elizabethan dialect. Yet a decade after Hurricane Sandy struck in 2012, the self-reliance and faith that has become the hallmark of the 9-mile archipelago in the wake of its damage is more evident than ever.