Photo courtesy of The Carteret County News-Times 



Photo by Kathy Hart 



Front Street in Beaufort as Hurricane Hazel struck in 1954 



John Sanders 



families to develop hurricane 

 preparedness plans. 



• An appearance on "Almanac," a 

 television program produced by the 

 N.C. Agricultural Extension Service, 

 where he explained the destructiveness 

 of a hurricane and how to prepare and 

 respond when one is forecast. 



• Schooling broadcast and print 

 journalists along with local emergency 

 management coordinators in a 

 statewide workshop, "Hurricane 

 Preparedness: A Community and 

 Family Responsibility." 



• Developing a hurricane safety 

 checklist tailored for North Carolina 

 use. 



• Working to coordinate hurricane 

 preparedness efforts between state 

 agencies such as the Department of 

 Emergency Management and Office of 

 Coastal Management. 



• Introducing new research and 

 methodologies that will assist 

 emergency management coordinators 

 in developing evacuation plans. 



• Developing educational tools that 

 can be used in the public schools to ex- 

 plain what are hurricanes and how to 

 respond if one occurs. 



Sanders and Hinn both say the 

 media has been responsive to 

 publishing and broadcasting 

 hurricane-preparedness stories, thus 

 reaching more and more people about 

 the potential dangers of a hurricane. 

 The Marine Resources Centers at 



Roanoke Island, Bogue Banks and 

 Fort Fisher each sponsor a "Hurricane 

 Awareness Week" in August every 

 year. Sanders, Spencer Rogers (UNC 

 Sea Grant's coastal engineer), 

 meteorologists from the NWS and 

 emergency management coordinators 

 speak to audiences about hurricanes 

 during the week. The Marine 

 Resources Center at Bogue Banks also 



is putting up a hurricane exhibit. 



Sanders says he believes more people 

 are increasing their hurricane 

 awareness. "When I go into an area 

 and begin to talk about hurricanes, 

 people seem better able to respond," 

 he says. "And they are taking a more 

 active role in developing hurricane 

 preparedness plans." 



—Kathy Hart 



Planning for the inevitable storm 



A hurricane is building in the Carib- 

 bean. It begins a track northward on a 

 course that marks its landfall as the 

 central North Carolina coast. How do 

 state and local emergency manage- 

 ment personnel respond to ensure the 

 public's safety? 



Most of the work for evacuation 

 plans was done before hurricane season 

 ever began. The state Division of 

 Emergency Management developed 

 and issued a county prototype evacua- 

 tion plan seven years ago to the 18 

 coastal counties. From this plan each 

 county developed its own county 

 evacuation plan. These plans are up- 

 dated and changed as situations and 

 conditions change in the county. 



The Division of Emergency 

 Management also developed a state 

 plan that will activate state agencies 



such as the Department of Transpor- 

 tation, which controls the coastal ferry 

 and bridge system, and the Highway 

 Patrol, which would assist with traffic 

 control. Emergency Management also 

 is helping industries such as 

 Weyerhauser to develop their own 

 hurricane plans. 



As hurricane season begins June 1, 

 the state and county emergency 

 management offices go into a "condi- 

 tion five alert" which they will main- 

 tain throughout hurricane season. If a 

 hurricane advisory is issued for North 

 Carolina a "condition four alert" 

 would be established. Plans are 

 reviewed and shelters checked. When a 

 hurricane watch is posted (48 hours in 

 advance of possible landfall) a "condi- 

 tion three alert" is set. Sheriff's 

 Continued on next page 



