THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 6, 1996 TAG: 9609060553
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL CLANCY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. LENGTH: 98 lines
This gaudy resort city stared Hurricane Fran in the eye Thursday night, absorbing staggering winds and eye-stinging rain, but Fran blinked and saved her greatest fury for eastern North Carolina.
Winds gusted to hurricane levels, lashing piers, flinging roof shingles and hurling dangerous yet majestic waves onto wide beaches.
Much of the city was shut down as residents, tourists and merchants heeded the call to evacuate. But a surprising number of people who have lived through hurricanes and hurricane warnings decided to stay put.
They argued it was better to risk Fran's temporary fury than run for it and have to face days of not knowing what happened.
``I've been here for 30 years and haven't run yet,'' said Irene Sumner as she stocked up on supplies at one of the few supermarkets open Thursday in this otherwise rapidly evacuating city.
With its resort strip and partly highbrow, partly midbrow beachfront neighborhoods, Myrtle Beach bears striking resemblance to Virginia Beach's Oceanfront.
But until Thursday, it did not seem that Myrtle Beach would be as lucky in avoiding hurricanes.
As Fran approached, it appeared every bit as nasty as advertised, but the real fear was not storm damage, but inland flooding.
``What we're really worried about is we have a place in the mountains and we hear the town's been completely flooded,'' said Sumner. ``We are going to be washed away up there and blown away here.''
By late afternoon the storm sent heavy seas crashing onto the beach, ripped metal roofing off one oceanfront building and seemed ready to roll across city streets.
Myrtle Beach was under a strict curfew and all residents east of the Intracoastal Waterway were told to evacuate. But many choose to ignore the order.
``I'm not worried about it because I know the Lord is in control,'' said Louise White, 82, who lives in an area of modest homes in the shadow of the tall oceanfront buildings.
Frank Burgess, a church member who had come by to look after her, said people in the community were better off staying home than going to crowded, leaky shelters.
``We know that storms are part of life, like living and dying,'' he said.
Burgess said he worried that, ``a lot of people are praying the storm north, but what about the people of Wilmington? They'll have to take it up from there and pray it on further.''
The worse thing about the storm for some was the lack of golf. As he checked out of The Breakers Resort Hotel, Steve Parente, of Philadelphia, said, ``We're heading for Jacksonville. We'll be playing golf at this time tomorrow.''
Hotel manager Mike Hendrix was taking reservations for Saturday and Sunday.
Police and National Guard units patrolled the streets and ordered drivers of non-essential vehicles off the streets.
Police Cpl. David Cook was concerned for residents' safety. ``We are going to do our darnedest to get these people to leave.''
``If they drag me out, I'll go,'' said Jim O'Connell of New York City as he bought bottled water, paper towels and batteries. He added, ``I'll be hiding under the bed.''
One thing keeping people here was their inability after Hugo to return for several days and concern about their property and the possibility of looting.
Julia Silver, struggling with a bulky umbrella while walking her German shepherd, Scarlett, said she and her friends debated leaving but decided, ``We'll stay with our property. This is where we live. This is our home.''
Peering from the front door of a neighbor's home, Pat Richburg said she had been through several hurricanes.
``I think the wind will get real scary tonight after the lights go out. You can just hear it. It goes on so long.''
But to her, the greatest challenge of the moment was finding mayonnaise to go with lunch.
``This is an emergency to my way of thinking.''
This morning will tell how wise people were to worry more about sandwich fixings than high ground.
``We stayed here for Hugo,'' said Kendall Stallard, 34. ``It gets a little scary, but once it's over it's really beautiful.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos
MIKE HEFFNER/The Virginian-Pilot
Julia Silver is no Mary Poppins, but she and her dog, Scarlett, felt
as though they would be taken aloft via umbrella by Hurricane Fran's
early winds Thursday in Myrtle Beach. Residents such as Silver said
they wanted to ride out the storm at home.
Marian Main of Fairfield, Conn., foreground, let Hurricane Fran run
its course Thursday as she grabbed some sleep in an evacuation
shelter in Forest Brook Elementary School, outside of Myrtle Beach.
The resort city was not hit head-on by the storm but got its share
of misery.
Waste not, want not is the philosophy at the Ripley's Motion Master
Moving Theatre in Myrtle Beach Thursday. The folks there recycled
plywood barriers from Bertha's visit. Some of the
kick-me-but-not-too-hard bravado that precedes hurricanes was there,
too.
KEYWORDS: HURRICANE FRAN HURRICANES AFTERMATH by CNB