Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 21, 1993 TAG: 9302210074
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG LENGTH: Medium
HURRICANE ASSESSMENT GRIM FOR VA.
A hurricane like Andrew could devastate coastal Virginia more than it did southern Florida, say emergency officials."If a storm like that hit us, it could cause a whole lot more headaches here," said Jack Williamson, emergency management coordinator for Newport News.
Williamson visited southern Florida last week with emergency planners from several other Hampton Roads localities. The planners convened Wednesday for a three-day conference to discuss the impact a severe hurricane could have on Virginia.
Andrew roared through southern Florida last Aug. 24, killing 41 people, damaging more than 120,000 houses and apartment units, wiping out 82,000 businesses and causing an estimated $20 billion in damage.
Storm damage from a hurricane as strong as Andrew likely would cause more damage in Hampton Roads than in southern Florida because the region has so much heavy industry, particularly shipyards, emergency planners said. There also are more people in Hampton Roads than where Andrew hit land in Florida.
"In the area where Andrew hit, there was a lot of agriculture and suburban housing - just no comparison between all the people in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth and the urban areas on the Peninsula," said Curt Shaffer, Hampton's emergency management coordinator.
Evacuating all those people would be difficult, emergency planners said. Hampton Roads is the ninth most difficult region of the nation to evacuate, according to a study by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Most residents who would be asked to evacuate if a hurricane approached would want to use Interstate 64, planners agree. "There would be a lot of people on the roads trying to get out," Shaffer said Tuesday.
The last major hurricane to hit the Virginia coast was Donna on Sept. 12, 1960. It caused $1.8 billion in damage along the East Coast. Three deaths in the state were attributed to the hurricane.