MEREDITH HERALD
Volume XIII, Issue 2
September 11, 1996
Raleigh, North Carolina
Taylor helps
Meredith
reroute
By Arinn Dixon
After spending Thursdiy niglit
being pounded and puminclcd by
Hurricane Fran, Meredith students
woke up Friday nK)rning tlazcd and
confased to the sigl)t of limbs, up
rooted trees and debris strewn across
the campus. Word spread quickly by
wordof-mouth that Direaor of Busi-
nessand Finance Chuck Taylor sched
uled an inforrreuive meeting at 12; 15
p.m. in Belk Dining Hall.
Taylor began the meeting by thank
ing the 300 students present for being
calm and laid-back during both the
hurricane and the next morning’s
power and water loss. "You students
have done well, " Taylor said. "We
appreciate your C(X)peration during
this crisis.
As the meeting progressed, Taylor
talked about the damage caused by
Fran and how it affected Meredith. He
warned studenLsabout downed power
lines and fl(H)ding around Raleigh,
encouraging them to use cautit>n when
driving in town.
After apologizing for the lack of
water, power and phones, Taylor an
swered questions about when the utili
ties might come back on. He said
Meredith’s phones ran on electricity,
so during the blackout students would
have no phone service. In the mean-
'time students could use the campus's
two pay phones in Johnson Hall. He
speculated the power and water could
return any time, and asked students to
l)c patient.
See TAYLOR, page 3
('hutk Taylor addresses students
atan emergency inceriiiKon Friday.
FRAN HITS HOME
Fallen limhs, coniplinieiits of Hurricane Fran, litter the lawn in front
of Johnson Hall
By Ginny Bonkemcyer
Hours after battering 200 miles of
North Carolina coastline, Fran roared
into the Triangle, still packing burri-
cane-force winds.
Hurricane Fran assiiulted North
Carolina with a fury compared to that
)f Hazel in 1954, one of the most
destructive hurricanes to hit the east
coast.
After milking landfall at 9:00 Thurs
day niglit between Holden Beach and
Wrightsville Beach, the storm
marched due nonhwest across the
state. Much like Hurricane Hugo, it
retained hurricane-force winds for
hundreds of miles inland. Fran w;ls
finally downgraded to a tropical storm
iiround 5:00 a.m. Friday, as it passed
into Virginia.
Topsail Island, on the nonlieast
side of the eye, was the hardest hit.
Officials reported that 80% of the
structurcson the island were severely
iL'imaged or de.stroyed.
The de.struction continued well
inland. Unlike most hurric-anes, which
weaken dramatically upon landfall.
Fran continued to hurl hurricane-force
winds for over eight hours after strik
ing land
Emerald Isle and Atlantic Beach,
which suffered so much ckimage from
Bertlia, fared much better this time
The area lost power for several ckiys
but there was much less structural
damage
New Hanover ('ouniy was also hit
very hard. Many homes in
Wilmington’s historic district were se
verely damaged, along with about a
quarter of the city's other homes.
Wrightsville Beach is expected to be
closed to residents fora week or more.
By 1:00 a.m. Friday, the center of
the hurricane had reached Sampson
County. Duplin County, on the north
east side of the eye, suffered extensive
damage as 80mph winds swept
through-
A Duplin County woirum in her
90 s was killed when the storm toppled
the chimney of her home. All power is
out in the county, and may take up to
three weeks to repair.
Severe effects of the storm were
felt as far up the coast as the Pamlico
Sound.
The Pamlico and Neuse Rivers rose
10 to 12 feet for several hours. New
Bern’s Front Street and waterfront
bridges were closed to tniffic for 10
hours, due to flcxxling.
Flooding was severe in Washing
ton, miles inland on the Pamlico River.
See TRACKING, page 3
Students deal
with damage
By Kim Highland
Thedestruction that Hurricane Fran
caused throughout North Carolina is
.said to be worse tlwn the dam;ige of
Hurricane Hazel in 1954. As .students
waitedout the stormeitherat Meredith
or al their homes, they witnessed ihe
effects of Fran around them. Luckily
on campus there was not tot> much
dantige — fallen trees, leaky roofs,
and minimal flooding was about the
extent of it. But some student's homes
or the homes of their loved ones are far
worse. Some people .still do not have
water or electricity, and the damage to
some homes will cost thousands of
dollars to repair.
Sophomore Sauni Baker decided to
go to her boyfriend’s apartment off of
Wake Forest Road to ride out the storm
on Thursday night. She knows now
that was a mistake. Baker said that at
3:00 a.m- the water started flo(xling
into the house. "The water came to
about thigh high on the first floor.”
Bilker said. Everyone at the house went
upstairs with as many belongings as
they could c'arry. "It was really scary,”
Baker said. “The refrigerator was float
ing around the apartment. ” They were
finally rescued by boat on Fridiiy at
noon. Everything on the first floor of
the apartment and most of the cars in
the apartment complex were ruined
due to the flooding.
From Wilmington, senior Donna
Gurganus heard from her family about
the aftermath of Hurricane Fran.
Gurganus said, “The flooding started at
4:00 p.m. on Thursday and the storm
didn't even hit until 8:00 or 9:00." Her
mother Siiid that two pine trees fell on
the roof and caused some minor roof
damage. They were really lucky com
pared to many people in that area,
(iurganus’s brother, liowever, was not
so fortunate. His apartment at
Wright-sville Beach had so much flood
ing that the water went up to his shoul
ders. He lost everything in his apart
ment and in the restaurant that he
manages.
See DAMAGE, page 3