THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 17, 1995 TAG: 9508170520
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 102 lines
Most Outer Banks residents already had nailed plywood across their windows, bought extra batteries, filled bathtubs with water.
They had sent their wives, children and grandparents to safety and pulled the porch furniture indoors.
Hurricane Felix was slowly spinning almost 200 miles off North Carolina's coast. High tide's threat was hours away. Waves were beginning to swallow a two-mile stretch of the beach road.
But with forecasters saying it could be at least another 12 hours before the big blow hit the Outer Banks, everyone who stayed on the islands still seemed safe Wednesday.
The wait, however, was killing them.
``We've had our excitement,'' Nags Head resident Fran Crutchfield said as she struggled to walk up the beach in 40 mphwinds Wednesday. ``We're ready for this storm to come already - and leave.''
Avon resident Janine Manginelli expressed similar sentiments while trudging into gale-force winds on Hatteras Island. ``It's just the anxiety,'' said Manginelli, who was checking the surging surf with five friends. ``Come on in. Let's go - so we can get it over with.''
John Grandy, whose family runs the Stop 'n' Shop convenience mart in Nags Head, said his store had been filled with weather watchers all day. Most came to buy batteries, bottled water and snacks. Some stopped in just to check reports flowing from the color television hanging on a back wall.
``Are we dead yet?'' Grandy called to three soda-sippers sitting at an orange booth with their eyes glued to the swirling storm.
``People are just waiting for this storm to decide where to go,'' he said shortly before dark. ``They're still hungry, though. So we'll stay open until the power goes out.''
When Felix first thrust its green glow across weather service radar screens Monday, Outer Banks tourists wondered whether to cut vacations short and residents tuned into their TVs. As officials ordered a mandatory evacuation Tuesday, most visitors streamed out of town and locals began boarding up. Tuesday night saw runs on grocery stores, preparations to move pets, and last-minute decisions about whether to flee.
But by Wednesday morning, most of the hard work was done. Businesses were closed, school was canceled and no one had anything left to do - except watch and wonder.
``We're just standing by to stand by right now,'' Raymond Austin of the North Carolina Ferry Systemsaid from his Hatteras Village post. Police officers waited in camouflage-colored four-wheel drive vehicles parked along beach accesses from Duck through Pea Island. Three Salvation Army trucks waited - unpacked - behind the Holiday Inn Express in Kitty Hawk.
Residents climbed damp dunes, wrestling with video recorders in an attempt to preserve the storm for posterity. Parents snapped shots on disposable cameras and hoisted excited children above the yellow froth. Couples walked barefooted along the beach, drinking ``hurricanes'' and sharing salty kisses.
Two young men strolled up the beach road, carrying cases of Budweiser and tightly rolled sleeping bags.
The Outer Banks looked like a hurricane party where the only thing missing was the uninvited guest.
Entertainment ranged from watching the waves to predicting when teetering beachfront cottages would finally topple into the tides.
``That one won't be here after high tide tonight,'' Kitty Hawk resident Jim Filipowicz said, pointing to a turquoise-trimmed one-story home barely gripping the crumbling coast with its 6-inch-wide pilings. ``They already cut the power off at those four across the street. They tried to turn my water off this morning. But I begged them to let me take one more shower. I think this is gonna be the worst storm we've ever seen. It's going to be really, really bad.''
Ray Athey also was worried about Felix. But by noon Wednesday, other concerns had cropped up. ``Do you think we'll still be able to buy cigarettes tomorrow, if this thing really does come tonight? I've only got three packs left,'' Athey asked two friends jumping waves as they washed over N.C. Route 12. ``I heard bottled water was going for $2.69 a gallon at the grocery. How much you reckon they could gouge us for beer?''
On Tuesday, Athey built an elevated platform on the first floor of his home on which to stack his washing machine and freezer in case of flooding. Wednesday morning, he mowed his yard. Neighbors hung laundry on clotheslines, swept driveways clear of sand and ran their dishwashers - just in case the town water system goes out.
Kmart employees kept their Kill Devil Hills branch open until noon Wednesday - and sold more than 3,000 flashlights throughout the day. Between 8 and 11:30 a.m., at least 2,100 customers streamed through the store. Patrons bought 9,000 gallons of water.
``All the locals were in a festive mood. People were concerned. But they also were getting bored,'' Kmart manager Bill Holland said. ``They were buying board games, magazines and things to do indoors. No one seemed really frightened.'' MEMO: Staff writer Lon Wagner contributed to this story.
ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
DREW C. WILSON/Staff
Chase Scaff, 11, and his father, David, 37, watch waves from the
advance fringe of Hurricane Felix crash against the pilings of Kitty
Hawk Pier on Wednesday.
KEYWORDS: HURRICANE FELIX by CNB