THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 27, 1995 TAG: 9508250264
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
Who knew?
If someone had told us that Hurricane Felix would bear down on the Outer Banks, wink and then turn away, we probably wouldn't have gone to all the trouble of preparing for it.
Dare and Currituck officials wouldn't have ordered Outer Banks residents and visitors to leave. Businesses wouldn't have closed down, missing out on several days of key summer revenue. Vacationers wouldn't have cut short their stays; locals wouldn't have hunted hotels hundreds of miles away.
There would have been no unearthly traffic jam, no media circus, no ghost-town atmosphere.
But no one can predict the weather, despite the fancy stuff they have to look at it with these days. People had to do the best they could with what they had.
And even though Felix was a false alarm, it was a challenge.
Five years from now, folks will remember Aug. 14-18, 1995. The week won't be a blur of blustery summer days, errands, work and the rest of the routine.
It'll be a collection of stories, a reference point for other storms past and future, a way to mark time as a community.
The T-shirts boast, ``I survived Hurricane Felix,'' even though everyone who's seen a mild northeaster knows there wasn't much of a trick to surviving.
The trick was paying attention to the weather, securing families and properties in case of the worst, helping those who needed assistance, maintaining civility in a 50-mile line of crawling cars.
The trick was facing the unknown with a little work, a little faith, a little humor, and then facing a return to normalcy with patience and diligence.
No one knew what Hurricane Felix would do.
But it seems that almost everybody knew how to respond. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo on cover by DREW C. WILSON
Storm drill
Staff photos by DREW C. WILSON
Hurricane flags flew at Nags Head Fire Station on Aug. 15 warning of
Felix.
Keith Andre, owner of Cape Pines Motel in Buxton, wipes his face
while putting up protective plywood at his motel.
Andrew Hines, 16, of Kitty Hawk, is shrouded in seafoam that was
kicked up by the approach of Hurricane Felix.
Brad Doer of the Dairy Queen at Avon puts out a sign in an attempt
to sell out of his spoilable dairy products as vacationers flee the
beach.
Cape Hatteras School custodian Marcella Burns, 30, of Buxton moved
school books higher to avoid possible high waters. Two years ago,
Hurricane Emily sent flood waters up to the bottom of the
chalkboard.
Brian Miller of Millers Seafood and Steak House in Kill Devil Hills,
tapes the windows of his restaurant.
KEYWORDS: HURRICANE FELIX by CNB