poses," he says, "for decisions about 

 future development and for hurricane 

 warning evacuation efforts." Given 

 the flood patterns of a community, 

 local officials could make better deci- 

 sions about development and enforce 

 the building codes and federal flood in- 

 surance regulations. He says the 

 model can also help communities make 

 decisions about evacuation routes and 

 timing. 



• If a hurricane warning is given for 

 your community, do you know the 

 safest route out? How long will it take 

 to reach "high ground" or the nearest 

 emergency shelter? These were the 

 kinds of questions John Stone was 

 seeking answers to in his Sea Grant 

 project this year. He found a relatively 

 simple way of getting them, too. 



Stone, an assistant professor of civil 

 engineering at NCSU, was familiar 

 with the transportation studies for 

 evacuation which had been done for 

 other states, such as Texas and 

 Florida. But, the computerized models 

 were for metropolitan areas, and the 

 North Carolina coast is dotted with 



Stont 



small communities. 

 So, Stone employ- 

 ed some tradi- 

 tional traffic-engi- 

 neering methods, 

 calculated for the 

 worst storm possi- 

 ble, and consid- 

 ered the following 

 factors for two 

 sample areas: the 

 population and its 

 density; coastal topography; the trans- 

 portation system and the number of al- 

 ternate routes; and the storm with its 

 location, intensity, speed and direc- 

 tion of travel. The sample areas chosen 

 were Holden Beach and Goose Creek 

 Island. 



Both areas fared well when the sim- 

 ple techniques were used to judge 

 evacuation, despite the fact that 

 Holden Beach's estimated summer 

 population of 10,000 has only one road 

 out and a bridge to cross. Goose Creek 

 residents have a bridge to cross, 

 several low-lying roads subject to 

 flooding and some congestion when ad- 



jacent communities funnel into the 

 road out. In addition, heavy rains, low 

 visibility, high winds, road washout 

 and flying debris can make the usual 

 30-minute drive a three-hour ordeal. 

 But congestion is the worst. 



"In the coastal area, it's been said 

 that the roadway systems have been in 

 place for twenty-five years," Stone 

 says. "The capacity of those roadways 

 has remained the same, but the 

 development of the coast has expanded 

 astronomically and will overload the 

 roads." 



The simple techniques Stone used in 

 his Sea Grant project can be used by 

 any coastal community to determine 

 an adequate evacuation time and iden- 

 tify critical points. In gathering the 

 necessary population and transporta- 

 tion data for the evacuation study, 

 local community officials can also 

 become more familiar with their 

 roadway system and what sort of plan- 

 ning can be done to alleviate the 

 current problems. 



— Cassie Griffin 



A plan for 

 The aftermath 



What does a town do when a 

 hurricane all but wipes it off the face of 

 the earth? Reach for its post-disaster 

 plan, according to the Coastal 

 Resources Commission, and follow the 

 guidelines for reconstruction. 



The post-disaster plan idea, the 

 brainchild of the commission, made its 

 debut this past summer when it was in- 

 troduced in Manteo and Wilmington. 

 The reason? "After the devastation of 

 a hurricane, it's utter chaos," says 

 Parker Chesson, chairman of the com- 

 mission. "And that's not the kind of 

 atmosphere for making decisions about 

 where structures are going to be rebuilt 

 and roads relocated." Proposed 

 guidelines were open for discussion, 

 and the idea was well received by 

 many of the coastal officials attending 

 the meetings. 



Chesson said that while most coastal 

 communities have emergency evacua- 

 tion plans, none had a plan for post- 

 disaster reconstruction. In developing 

 the idea and proposed guidelines, 

 members of the commission studied 

 other states, particularly Gulf Shores, 



Alabama, which was devastated by 

 Hurricane Frederic in 1979. The 

 mayor of Gulf Shores told the com- 

 missioners that the lack of a post- 

 disaster plan was at the root of their 

 town's rebuilding problems. "Inade- 

 quate zoning and building codes," 

 Chesson says, "allowed all buildings to 

 be put back in exactly the same loca- 

 tions where the storm had demolished 

 them. We don't want that here." 



With the general policy and 

 guidelines proposed by the commis- 

 sion, coastal communities are asked to 

 establish plans which include an inven- 

 tory of buildings, a list of property ow- 

 ners and policies for desired relocation 

 of roads, utilities and public and 

 private development. "These 

 guidelines aren't going to do much for 

 post-disaster without the local com- 

 munities getting involved them- 

 selves," Chesson says, "and most local 

 governments do want to have control 

 over how their community is going to 

 grow and develop." 



North Carolina is "out in front," 

 Chesson explains, with the post- 

 disaster plan, and with good reason be- 

 cause of federal cutbacks in relief 

 funds. He says that it is going to be 

 much easier for towns to get help in 

 reconstruction if they show wise use of 



the funds and a cooperative plan of ac- 

 tion with state and local government 

 agencies. 



— Cassie Griffin 



Photo by Jim Page. NRCD 



Parker Chesson 



