HURRICANE LEAVES 17 DEAD, VIRGINIA FLOODED IN ITS WAKE : HURRICANE'S AFTERMATH DEATHS.Byline: Dan Sewell Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Hurricane Fran This article is about the Atlantic hurricane of 1996; for other storms of the same name, see Tropical Storm Fran (disambiguation). Hurricane Fran was a powerful Cape Verde-type hurricane of the 1996 Atlantic hurricane season that made landfall near Cape Fear in North Carolina at stranded hundreds of people on barrier islands and its remnants flooded Virginia hollows Friday. More than a million customers were without power and at least 17 people were killed. Rescue workers struggled in boats, helicopters and military vehicles Military vehicles include all land combat and transportation vehicles, excluding rail-based, which are designed for or are in significant use by military forces. See also list of armoured fighting vehicles. to reach those endangered by flash floods in Virginia, where the ground had been saturated by days of rain before Fran dumped up to 10 more inches. ``They just waited too long. When they saw the streams rising, they should have gotten out,'' said Leon Rickard, the emergency coordinator in Page County in northwestern Virginia. Fran roared onto land at the Cape Fear River Cape Fear River, 202 mi (325 km) long, formed in E central N.C. by the junction of the Deep and Haw rivers, and flowing southeast to enter the Atlantic Ocean S of Wilmington and N of Cape Fear; longest river entirely within North Carolina. with 115 mph winds Thursday night before weakening to a tropical storm tropical storm n. A cyclonic storm having winds ranging from approximately 48 to 121 kilometers (30 to 75 miles) per hour. tropical storm by dawn Friday in Virginia. It was merely a depression by midday Friday, but continued to dump heavy rain over a wide area already saturated by steady downpours earlier in the week. By 5:30 p.m., its top winds had declined from 115 mph to about 29 mph, and the storm was centered over West Virginia West Virginia, E central state of the United States. It is bordered by Pennsylvania and Maryland (N), Virginia (E and S), and Kentucky and, across the Ohio R., Ohio (W). Facts and Figures Area, 24,181 sq mi (62,629 sq km). Pop. , on a path to dump rain through much of the Northeast over the next couple of days. About 6 inches of rain - and up to 11 inches in isolated spots - rushed down Virginia mountainsides into creeks, streams and rivers still sodden sod·den adj. 1. Thoroughly soaked; saturated. 2. Soggy and heavy from improper cooking; doughy. 3. Expressionless, stupid, or dull, especially from drink. 4. Unimaginative; torpid. v. from flooding Tuesday and Wednesday, when 5 inches of rain fell. Water lapped over reservoirs and threatened to breach earthen earth·en adj. 1. Made of earth or clay: an earthen fortification; an earthen pot. 2. Earthly; worldly. dams. The town of Elkton, in the western foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains Blue Ridge also Blue Ridge Mountains A range of the Appalachian Mountains extending from southern Pennsylvania to northern Georgia. It rises to 2,038.6 m (6,684 ft) at Mount Mitchell in the Black Mountains of western North Carolina. , was an island, with water covering all roads All Roads is a 2001 interactive fiction game by Jon Ingold that placed first at the 2001 Interactive Fiction Competition. It also won the XYZZY Awards for Best Game, Best Setting and Best Story and was nominated for Best Individual Puzzle and Best Writing. out. Rescuers in a boat saved Jack Craft from his flooded home near Danville, Va., after they spotted a candle he was waving in an upstairs window just before dawn Friday. ``We saw the candle moving so we knew he was alive,'' said Fire Chief Mike Neal. ``The water could easily have wiped away the foundation and sent the house down the creek. The current was racing. It was sort of like water going down a drain - it had a whirl to it.'' A Navy helicopter sent to rescue four people in Page County had to turn back because of poor visibility. ``I know we have two people in a tree, another man on a car and another on a barn roof,'' he said. ``The flooding has gotten worse. It has split the town of Luray in half.'' Sam Reeves and Mike Hudeo had been stuck in a tree since 10 a.m. Two others who tried to rescue them by boat were stranded in a nearby tree. All four were pulled to safety by a Coast Guard helicopter about 7 p.m. In North Carolina North Carolina, state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N). Facts and Figures Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. , National Guardsmen threatened to arrest anyone venturing into evacuated areas as officials tried to make contact with people who weathered the storm on fragile barrier islands. President Clinton declared a major disaster in North Carolina and Virginia, making storm victims eligible for federal loans. The islands just east of Wilmington appeared to be most heavily hit. Carolina Beach, Kure Beach and Topsail Beach were completely submerged during the height of the storm, and oceanfront homes were plowed flat on all three of them. On Holden Beach, west of Cape Fear Noun 1. Cape Fear - a cape in southeastern North Carolina extending into the Atlantic Ocean NC, North Carolina, Old North State, Tar Heel State - a state in southeastern United States; one of the original 13 colonies , a ``For Sale'' sign advertised a three-bedroom oceanfront home, but concrete blocks were all that was left. Randy Stanton's home, in the same neighborhood, was one of four that remained standing - 15 feet out in the surf. He wasn't giving up on it. ``If I could get out there, I'd sleep in it tonight,'' Stanton said. At least 17 were killed, including: A woman killed near Conway, S.C., when her car lost control in water and struck a tree. A man killed in Andrews, S.C., when his car hit a fallen tree. A woman killed in Onslow County, N.C., when a tree fell on her trailer. Two men killed near Wake County, N.C., when their truck hit a downed tree. Two killed in Durham County, N.C.; a motorist and a firefighter when a tree fell on a fire truck. A resident of Johnston County, N.C., killed when a tree fell on a house. A 13-year-old boy in Alamance County, N.C., killed when a tree fell on a house. Five other North Carolina weather-related traffic fatalities, including three in Wayne County, one in Northampton County and one in Pitt County. A woman in Highland County, Va., who died when she tried to cross a flooded creek in an all-terrain vehicle. Two flood-related deaths in West Virginia, including a man whose vehicle was stranded in Pendleton County and was swept away by flood waters and drowned. DAMAGE President Clinton declares a major disaster in North Carolina and Virginia. Carolina Beach, N.C., Kure Beach, N.C. and Topsail Beach, N.C., completely submerged during the storm. In Shallotte Point, N.C., 20 boats at Hughes Marina were washed away. Several sailboats also slammed into the Bradley Creek Bridge near Wrightsville Beach. At Surf City, a tornado rocked the N.C. 211 swing bridge, and power lines were hitting each other and exploding in the wind. Dome ripped off 1911 county courthouse in Kenansville, N.C. Flooding makes Interstate 40 near Burgaw nearly impassable. UTILITIES More than a million customers lost power in the Carolinas and Virginia. The Insurance Information Institute estimates losses to private property owners with insurance at $625 million. RESPONSE About 79 shelters have opened in South Carolina South Carolina, state of the SE United States. It is bordered by North Carolina (N), the Atlantic Ocean (SE), and Georgia (SW). Facts and Figures Area, 31,055 sq mi (80,432 sq km). Pop. (2000) 4,012,012, a 15. ; 126 in North Carolina; 35 in Virginia. National Guard troops patrolling damaged areas in Carolinas. North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt asks all nonessential non·es·sen·tial adj. Being a substance required for normal functioning but not needed in the diet because the body can synthesize it. state workers to stay home. Twenty-four-hour curfews imposed in many communities. CLOSINGS Amtrak Amtrak, the National Railroad Passenger Corp., authorized to operate virtually all intercity passenger railroad routes in the United States. Amtrak was created by Congress in 1970 in response to more than two decades of continuous operating deficits by privately run curtails train service along parts of the Atlantic coast. Charleston, S.C., International Airport reopens Friday. Limited service only at Raleigh-Durham Airport. Many area schools closed. CAPTION(S): 4 Photos, Box Photo: (1--color) A Jacksonville, N.C., family surveys the damage to their home Friday. (2) Shop owners near the Annapolis city dock in Maryland rush to protect their shops from flood waters. Associated Press (3) no caption (downed power line and auto) (4) no caption (damaged beach) Box: HURRICANE'S AFTERMATH (see text) |
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