DATE: Tuesday, April 29, 1997               TAG: 9704290305

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: BY CATHERINE KOZAK, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: MANTEO                            LENGTH:   79 lines

DARE FINDS HURRICANE MEETING ENCOURAGING OFFICIALS PRAISE IDEAS AND LOCAL READINESS.

With its coastline jutting far into the Atlantic, Dare County may be appear more vulnerable than most coastal regions to hurricane devastation. But the official in charge of coping with summer storms says this vacation center may also be more prepared than most.

``It is interesting that we're way ahead of the average curve - any curve - in planning, organization and implementation of our plan for hurricane and storm emergency management,'' Dare County Commissioner Geneva Perry said Monday. ``It was just so gratifying to me to see how much more advanced we are.''

As head of the county Control Group, the decision-making body during emergencies, Perry attended the 1997 National Hurricane Conference in Houston last week to glean the latest information on coping with monster storms that could threaten the Eastern Seaboard and the Gulf Coast during the hurricane season that starts June 1.

Perry was joined at the three-day conference by County Manager Terry Wheeler, County Planning Director Ray Sturza, Nags Head Police Chief Charles Cameron, Nags Head Deputy Fire Chief Kevin Zorc, Southern Shores Town Manager Cay Cross and several other local municipal representatives.

With the conference's main focus on mitigation of storm damage, Perry said Southern Shores' Blue Sky program was praised for using the type of hurricane-resistant building methods that experts recommend to prevent devastation to property. A workshop that Blue Sky architect Ben Cahoon conducted on the project was well-received at the conference, Perry said.

Despite its vulnerability, Sturza said Dare County is probably better off than many beach areas in the country because most buildings are fairly new and built to North Carolina code. The state requires structures in coastal areas to be engineered to withstand 120 mph winds.

``Our housing stock is comparably modern,'' he said. ``We have that to our advantage. And our beach communities aren't built for density like other communities.''

The planning director said insurance providers, banks, property owners and government emergency managers will need to converge efforts. For instance, he said, if tax incentives or insurance policy discounts were provided, builders and property owners would be encouraged to build houses that could withstand stronger winds. Insurance company representatives speaking at the conference said providers are starting to expect property owners to take more responsibility for their belongings, instead of just walking away and filing a claim for losses.

``It has to be market-driven incentives,'' Sturza said of mitigation. ``Because it's just smart to do. Because they're going to get a break in their policy.''

Homeowners should also be encouraged to shutter their houses, retrofit structures to make them stronger, and build above the flood level, Sturza said. Government, in turn, can provide stricter code enforcement, permit waivers and access to low-interest loans.

Sturza said emergency managers in Miami plan to implement a new contractual arrangement with the media that would allow a pool reporter access to the emergency control center in return for a guarantee from the press to use the center's information. The officials said that the arrangement could help both sides get accurate updates to the public about storms.

Hurricanes Fran and Bertha - which hit North Carolina hardest and were the worst in the country last year - were reviewed and analyzed at length in workshops and sessions, Perry said. Other topics included the effect of storm surge on North Carolina's barrier islands, evacuation responses before a watch or warning is issued, long-term redevelopment, and the benefits of beach renourishment. Although expensive, proponents of renourishment at the conference said it was very effective in buffering the coast near Wrightsville Beach from severe damage. That information was of interest to Dare County, which is considering whether beach renourishment is warranted here, Perry said.

Perry said she was very impressed by speakers Neil Frank, a meteorologist in Houston, and Dr. Walter Gray, the Colorado State professor renowned for his accurate hurricane predictions.

Gray said there will be 11 storms this year, with three of them major. And she was struck by how the seeming randomness and minimal predictability of the storms equalized the stakes for all the participants.

``We all, no matter where you are, have the same set of problems . . . evacuations, re-entry, those type of things,'' Perry said. ``No matter how organized you are, you still have to deal with those issues.''

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