OAK ISLAND, N.C. -- The cleanup is underway on Oak Island after Tropical Storm Hanna swept through the area quickly Saturday morning, bringing wind, rain and tearing into the island’s beaches. Overall though, Oak Island was spared and the cleanup will be light.

"During the height of the storm, we had great residents,” fire Chief John House said. “They didn't do anything, didn't go outside or anything."

When the sun came up, the damage was visible but minimal. Trash cans scattered local streets, flood waters pushed across a few low-lying roadways, and a few trees, signs and even shutters bore the brunt of the storm.

"We got basically what we thought we'd get,” House said, which was welcome news to residents who woke up Saturday morning as strong winds offered light evidence of the storm’s passing. Most of the rainfall had already passed through the area, as well.

Officials said the worst part of the damage is actually on the beach itself. Sand dunes, which are supposed to help with beach erosion, were littered with sand, which Hanna pushed back with its storm surge and high tide.

"A lot of erosion, a lot of sand dunes, washouts, overflows – it's not going to be the same beach,” House explained.

House said they can rebuild the beach though like they always do after a bad storm. He said—more importantly—no one was injured and the rest of the damage from Tropical Storm Hanna was minimal.

Wrightsville breathes sigh of relief

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, N.C. -- Despite Tropical Storm Hanna's strong winds, high surf and heavy showers, people at Wrightsville Beach felt pretty lucky Saturday. The coastal community just outside of Wilmington didn't take the beating it had feared.

Tropical Storm Hanna hit the beach hardest in the hours before sunrise even though a lot of people slept right through it.

“I slept pretty well actually. I did wake up about 4:30 a.m. this morning to see some transformers off in the distance. They flashed bright white,” Madelyn Miller, who was visiting the area from Pittsburgh.

That bright flash left the island dark without power until around 6:30 a.m. Then those ominous clouds and gusty winds gave way to a beautiful Sunday morning. Those at Wrightsville Beach said it was a perfect way to salvage a weekend getaway.

“We were a little worried, but I just thought it was kind of more of an adventure,” Miller added.

“We did not lose power. We’re about six minutes from the beach. So when I went out this morning and saw things looked pretty good, I told my husband, ‘I’m going to the beach.’ He rolled his eyes and said, ‘See you later,’” Wilmington resident Doris Flowers said.

Flowers said she keeps her eye on every storm even if she’s seen worse.

“I’ve seen a lot of storms through here. We took down a tree in our yard yesterday from Charlie four years ago. We’ve been watching it,” Flowers added.

Wrightsville Beach watched, readied and then handled Tropical Storm Hanna, a storm that hurried up the coastline and out of concern.

For their part, New Hanover County officials said they took all the proper steps—closing down schools, opening up shelters and offering evacuations—and they said even though the county didn’t get the worst of Hanna, that’s going to pay off in a big way the next time a powerful storm hits.

At its peak, officials reported about 24,000 power outages in New Hanover. They hoped to have all the power restored in the county by Saturday night.

Additional storm photos from Oak Island:

Additional storm photos from Wrightsville Beach