THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 6, 1995 TAG: 9508040232
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 54 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
SOURCE: Ronald Speer
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
Well, it's the time that folks who visit or live on the Outer Banks have to think about paying the piper.
And in our case, that means dealing with the threat of a hurricane.
The most dangerous weeks of the year for hurricanes are ahead for this fragile paradise that rarely sees tornadoes, never gets rattled by earthquakes and generally doesn't have to brave blizzards.
But hurricanes have hammered the Outer Banks throughout history, and experts this year have predicted we may be threatened by more than half a dozen before the season ends in November.
Florida has already been hit, although the damage was nothing like that inflicted by Hurricane Andrew a few years back.
The last time the Outer Banks took a body blow was in August of '93, when Emily carved a path of destruction across the southern sections of Hatteras Island.
Nasty as Emily was, it didn't affect most of the Outer Banks. Last year, Hurricane Gordon toppled a few houses into the surf but otherwise was a delightful bust.
There hasn't been a massive hurricane in years, and most of the new developments on the Outer Banks have never been tested.
That worries folks in charge of preparing for a disaster they hope never comes. There isn't a lot of local data to use as a guideline in getting ready for a major hurricane.
And the Outer Banks is different from most hurricane-prone coastal areas, because our playgrounds and homesites are reachable only by bridges or ferries.
That makes drawing up evacuation plans very difficult. The people who have to decide whether it is safe to stay are forced to make early decisions on whether to order visitors and residents alike off the Outer Banks.
If the evacuation starts too late, it could be a disaster. But nobody wants to cry wolf unnecessarily until it's clear that danger is upon us.
The Dare County Emergency Operations Committee met last month to make plans on how to face challenges thrown up if a Force 4 or Force 5 hurricane (Emily was a 3) roars across the Outer Banks.
It's scary stuff. A massive Force 4 storm would cripple the bridges, knock out power and telephones, send 10- to 15-foot surges of water across the sounds well up into the Albemarle, and do a lot of very bad things to people, places and property.
Local, state and federal officials sat in on the planning sessions. Those who had seen what was wrought by Hugo and Andrew didn't paint a pretty picture.
They talked about how to identify the dead and what to do with bodies, for instance.
It ain't a party when a hurricane comes calling, despite the idiots who think they can drink their way through any storm.
And if a really big blow hits, it would be weeks and months before life could return to anything resembling normalcy.
Hopefully, Mother Nature will find other ways to display her power, and all the effort that goes into planning for a disaster will be a waste of energy.
But only fools would count on luck to keep us safe.
The planning exercises led by Dare County Commissioner Clarence Skinner and emergency director Sandy Sanderson could be the difference between life and death.
Next weekend, we'll run stories in our local news section sharing some of the plans for evacuation, what to do before you go, how and when to come back and what to do when you return. We'll offer tips on survival gleaned from experts who've been there.
Probably that big hurricane won't come, and we'll have a quiet summer and fall.
But if a big blow does come and you head for safety, don't forget to take your insurance records.
I'd never thought of that until a victim of earlier hurricanes passed on that tip. by CNB