Preparations
Initial forecasts predicted a landfall on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, with winds of 100 mph (160 km/h); however, these forecasts were made with great uncertainty. While Felix was still near Bermuda, officials in the United States issued hurricane warnings from Little River, South Carolina to Chincoteague, Virginia, and tropical storm warnings from Chincoteague to near Manasquan, New Jersey on August 15. Also that same day, officials in Dare County, North Carolina, ordered a mandatory evacuation for the Outer Banks, a decision that caused $4 million (1995 USD) in daily losses for local businesses. At the time, over 200,000 tourists and residents were in the evacuation zone, including 5,000 to 8,000 in Hatteras, the city furthest from the mainland by road. Had the hurricane continued on its path, it would have made landfall on the night of August 16. For this same reason, schools were cancelled throughout Dare County. Further inland in North Carolina, shelters were opened in schools in Roanoke Rapids and Rocky Mount.
In southeastern Virginia, officials feared a repeat of the 1933 Chesapeake Potomac Hurricane, which caused a deadly storm surge in downtown Norfolk. Contrary to typical North Carolina hurricanes, which parallel the coast, Felix was predicted to make landfall head on, a situation known to exacerbate storm surge. The large size of the hurricane, potential for re-strengthening, and slow forward motion, caused a worst-case scenario in which up to 9 feet (2.7 m) of water would be pushed onshore and cause widespread flooding throughout southeastern Virginia. The projected path caused 66 U.S. Navy ships to depart the Norfolk Naval Base for safer waters.
Read more about this topic: Hurricane Felix (1995)
Famous quotes containing the word preparations:
“Whatever may be the reason, whether it was that Hitler thought he might get away with what he had got without fighting for it, or whether it was that after all the preparations were not sufficiently complete—however, one thing is certain: he missed the bus.”
—Neville Chamberlain (1869–1940)
“At the ramparts on the cliff near the old Parliament House I counted twenty-four thirty-two-pounders in a row, pointed over the harbor, with their balls piled pyramid-wise between them,—there are said to be in all about one hundred and eighty guns mounted at Quebec,—all which were faithfully kept dusted by officials, in accordance with the motto, “In time of peace prepare for war”; but I saw no preparations for peace: she was plainly an uninvited guest.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“In all the important preparations of the mind she was complete; being prepared for matrimony by an hatred of home, restraint, and tranquillity; by the misery of disappointed affection, and contempt of the man she was to marry. The rest might wait. The preparations of new carriages and furniture might wait for London and the spring, when her own taste could have fairer play.”
—Jane Austen (1775–1817)