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Serving the students and the University
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FEEUNG THE FORCE OF FLOYD
N.C. Residents Brace
For Wet, Bumpy Ride
The Category 3 storm was
expected to come inland at
about midnight and drive
toward the Triangle.
Staff and Wire Reports
WILMINGTON As powerful
Hurricane Floyd barreled toward North
Carolina’s coast Wednesday, thousands
of fleeing island residents clogged high
ways and jammed shelters amid drench
ing rains and gusting winds.
The huge storm, with 115 mph winds
and hurricane-force winds extending
outward 125 miles, spun off several tor
nadoes along the southeast coast -one
destroying a home and heavily damag
ing two others at Emerald Isle -and
flooded streets and low-lying homes in
Wilmington. Traveling at 17 mph, Floyd
was expected to come ashore near
Myrtle Beach, S.C., early Thursday.
Besides hurricane warnings for the
entire coast, high wind and flash flood
watches were posted through Thursday
for the western Piedmont and the
Fayetteville and Research Triangle Park
areas. Evacuations were ordered for bar
rier islands up and down the coast, and
only boarded-up businesses along
empty streets remained by Wednesday
afternoon in many beach towns from
Nags Head to Sunset Beach.
Curfews were imposed in
Wilmington and nearby Kure Beach
and Carolina Beach. Many people who
rode out earlier hurricanes left this time.
President Clinton declared the state a
federal disaster area Wednesday in
Survival 101: Braving the Hurricane
As Hurricane Floyd moves into the Triangle, area shelters and emergency resources are
available for residents and students waiting out the storm.
Decisions regarding Friday will be made late Thursday jjL l
afternoon. : , m
Dating Information: tk A®*
■ Lenoir Dining Hall: II jh [yy
Open: 7:30 a.m. Thursday. Regular hours. J(n k
■ Chase Had:
Open: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Thursday. m * m t
Department of Public Safety: Ml
■ Will reman staffed and open 24 hours. I & I®*
■ Fora non-emergency and information, call 962-8100. Wi m *
■ Updated news and information at www.dps.unc.edu. $1 jk
Student Union: I®*
■ Open Thursday, but all meetings are canceled. m iIL
Student Stores: m
I Closed Thursday. Ifu
Chaoel Hah it A 1
Shelter Information , m
The Red Cross will have three shelters open: i ik **
8 C.W. Stanford Middle School, Hillsborough ih\ m 1
a Chapel Hill His School, Chapel Hill if, m
a St. Joseph's C.M.E. Church, Chapel Hill , m ,
Orange County Authorities' Contact Numbers: M v J S
a Sheriff: 644-3050 H
. a Police (non-emergency): 732-6300 . I
Pom Company Contact Numbers. i,if 1 m
a Duke Energy: (800) 769-3766 f! i
B Piedmont Electric: (800) 222-3107
Fire Service: l f
a Citizens should call 911 in case of emergency. Please limit calls mmi
to emergency nee* only in order to keep phone lines open for A
calls The Chapel Hill fire Department will continue to respond . m ,'{f\
to emergency calls as storm conditions allow. L*® L
Police Service: f* 1
a Police will respond to emergency calls as weather comfitions m
allow during the store! event. Non-emergency police services, LV i ”
such as investigations aid traffic reports, will be suspended ffff m 1
until further notice. m
Transit Service: fA ,ji\ ”
B Chapel Hill Transit will make every effort to maintain regularly W fftv f
scheduled services. Standard policy is that services will operate * J i®* ijL
as long as it is physically safe to do. > M
a For the latest announcements on service cancellations or i m
detours patrons should tune their radios to WCHI 1360 am or m .jv 1,
WUNC9I. S . & g
anticipation of storm damage.
Terry Hurley, who went Wednesday
to a Wilmington shelter with his wife
and two young children, said his family
stayed home for Hurricanes Fran and
Beitha in 1996, but not Floyd.
“They talk like this one is going to be
pretty mean. It’s got everybody shook
up,” he said. About 110 people were in
the middle school shelter an hour after
it opened.
At Wrightsville Beach outside
Wilmington, Pam Carroll and her hus
band Bernard nailed plywood to the
door of their King Neptune Restaurant
before leaving Wednesday afternoon.
“This is very nerve-wracking. We’re
all stressed,” she said, holding her 2-
year-old son, Patterson, in her arms. Her
husband said, “My son’s not quite 3
years old, and this is his third storm.”
There were plenty of reasons to pay
attention to Floyd. Forecasters said it
was the most powerful hurricane to
threaten the mainland in years.
“In terms of strength and speed and
force of the wind, it looks to be a once
in-a-decade storm, or even longer,” state
Public Safety Secretary Richard Moore
said at a news briefing in Raleigh. “I
know that Florida and Georgia at this
point feel like they’ve dodged a real bul
let... This thing is not going to miss us.”
At 6 p.m., Floyd was about 185 miles
south-southwest of Wilmington, travel
ing north. It was expected to turn north
northeast sometime Thursday.
Because of this incredible strength,
the effects of Floyd will be felt through
out most of the state. Winds in
See HURRICANE, Page 10
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind.
Bob Dylan
Thursday, September 16, 1999
Volume 107, Issue 75
i - / *~ “******,_. '- *
DTH/SEFTON IPOCK
Rodney Smith (left) and Antonio Cameron help prepare Lenoir Dining Hall for Hurricane Floyd. Employees
will spend the night at the facility to be prepared to open after the storm Friday morning.
Students Tap UNC Services
Many students rushed
out to buy food and other
supplies in preparation
for Hurricane Floyd.
By Derick Maiierv
Staff Writer
Plans to batten down the hatches in
preparation for Hurricane Floyd had
campus officials opening makeshift shel
ters and students emptying shelves.
Lenoir Dining Hall is maintaining
regular hours throughout the storm to
provide meals for students who are not
leaving campus.
“Getting (students) meals is the most
important thing right now,” said
Christine Ziemak, marketing manager
of Carolina Dining Services.
Ziemak said many Lenoir employees
would be spending Wednesday night in
Lenoir because the hurricane might dis
rupt bus schedules and transportation
routes.
She said she wanted to make sure
employees were working by 5 a.m.
Thursday to open the hall for breakfast
at 7:30 a.m. Ziemak said she might
spend the night on a cot in her office.
CDS employees have been stockpil
ing supplies of deli meats, soft drinks,
Towns Tout Readiness for Trouble
The Red Cross has opened
emergency shelters to
residents in Chapel Hill
and Carrboro.
By Mac Heffner
and Jenny Stepp
Staff Writers
As the Triange lay in wait for the
force of Floyd, local town officials said
they had taken the necessary precau
tions.
While residents hit local grocery
stores to stock up on last-minute items,
Chapel Hill police called in extra offi
cers and firefighters opened up two
makeshift shelters.
Officials said their experiences dur
ing Hurricane Fran in 1996 helped
improve their emergency response.
“1 think they learned a lot from
Hurricane Fran,” Carrboro Alderman
Jacqueline Gist said. “I think they’ll be
as prepared as they can be.”
cookies and chips in case power failure
makes cooking impossible, Ziemak said.
As long as power is available, however,
Lenoir will continue with all operations.
Employees also distributed “hurri
cane snack packs” to students
Wednesday night so they would not
have to leave their residence halls.
“We don’t want (students) going out
into the hurricane to eat,” Ziemak said.
But junior Kendra Brock from
Fayetteville said
she did not plan to
eat at Lenoir. “I
have plenty of food
in my room,” she
said.
Food will not be
sold in the Student
Union, but Union
Director Don Luse
said the ipain areas
of the building
“I am very concerned
about food. More concerned
than about my dorm
blowing down. ”
Jane Khudyakov
Freshman from Hickory
would remain open today. “(Although
it’s not) a shelter, we won’t turn anyone
away,” he said.
Since Tuesday, students have flooded
on-campus snack areas and the South
Campus Mini Mart to prepare for the
storm. Shelves remained well-stocked in
most. The only item Student Stores ran
out of Wednesday was batteries.
Freshman Jane Khudyakov from
Hickory said having enough food to get
Nick Waters, director of Orange
Emergency Services, said he expected
downed power lines and fallen trees in
addition to flooding in low-lying areas.
But Waters said he did not expect any
structural damage due to wind.
Carrboro set up a command center at
the fire station, and the police depart
ment and fire stations are keeping extra
personnel on call all day today.
Carrboro police Capt. John Butler
said he expected the entire police force
to work Wednesday night.
Residents are encouraged to call the
regular fire station number for non
emergencies and 911 for any emergency
situations. The Red Cross set up three
shelters in the area. C.W. Stanford
Middle School will serve Hillsborough.
Chapel Hill High School and St.
Joseph’s C.M.E. Church at 510 W.
Rosemary St will serve Chapel Hill and
Carrboro.
Alderman Hilliard Caldwell said
town preparations began too late.
“I’m appalled that only two buildings
in the county are set up for shelters,” he
said. “It’s ridiculous that a Carrboro res
through the storm was a priority.
“I am very concerned about food,”
she said. “More concerned than about
my dorm blowing down.”
Katye Aydlett, a Student Stores
clerk, said water had been the most pop
ular item sold.
“Student Stores is the last place with
water,” she said.
Stockpiling water was one of the rec
ommendations issued by the
Department of
Public Safety on
Wednesday.
But not all stu
dents were con
cerned about get
ting food or water
during the hurri
cane. “I’m not
worried, I’ve been
through hurri
canes before,” said
Jennifer Arttew, a freshman from
Charlotte.
Student Health Service will also
remain open today with a limited staff
for urgent services, said SHS Director
Dr. J. Robert Wirag.
Emergencies should be taken direct
ly to UNC Hospitals.
The University Editor can be reached
at udesk@unc.edu.
ident has to drive to another part of the
county.”
But Waters urged residents to use
shelters for emergencies only.
“Exercise other options before turn
ing to public shelters,” he said.
Carrboro officials are specifically
concerned about the needs of the elder
ly and disabled community. They are
responding by personally contacting the
26 special-needs individuals on their list
Murray said 23 of the 26 had been
contacted, and all were seeking shelter
with family or friends in the area.
Officials said they were confident in
their ability to handle the storm after the
lessons they learned from Fran.
“(There has been) better coordination
with the other municipalities,”
Alderman Joal Broun said.
But Town Manager Robert Morgan
was a bit more cautious.
“Even though things look better,
we’re taking precautions, and individu
als should do the same.”
The City Editor can be reached
at citydesk@unc.edu.
News/Features/Arts/Sports 962-0245
Business/Advertising 962-1163
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
C 1999 DTH Publishing Corp.
All rights reserved.
UNC Shuts
Doors for
Hurricane
University officials expect
to announce a decision
today regarding classes
and services on Friday.
By Aisha K. Thomas
Staff Writer
As Hurricane Floyd moves into the
area, University officials will decide
tonight whether classes will be held
Friday.
Interim Chancellor Bill McCoy
announced Wednesday that all classes
would be canceled today.
Student Body President Nic Heinke
said officials decided to close the
University from 6 p.m. Wednesday
through Thursday evening. But as
weather conditions worsened, the clos
ing time moved to 2 p.m.“The sole con
sideration was safety issues,” Heinke
said. “It was a very easy decision.”
The administration’s decision to can
cel classes spread quickly by word of
mouth Wednesday, leaving many sur
prised considering UNC’s history of
shying away from such closings.
In 1996, officials canceled class after
the Hurricane Fran hit in the early
morning hours of Sept. 6.
Nancy Davis, associate vice chancel
lor for University relations, said
announcements were being sent to stu
dents and staff through e-mail, voice
mail and on the University’s Web site.
Director of Public Safety Derek
Poarch said preparations were made for
students to stay on campus and that
they were urged to stay in Chapel Hill.
He said the emergency command
center at the Department of Public
Safety would work around the clock to
ensure student safety. In addition, more
officers are on shift, he said.
“The information we have received
from the facilities office is that all cam
pus dormitories have gone through pre
vious storms without a problem.”
Students were pleased with the unex
pected day off and said they would
spend the day relaxing and catching up
on work. Most were not worried about
the storm’s arrival.
“I’m glad because I have a lot of
work to do,” said Erica Lane, a junior
from Greensboro. Sophomore Lindsav
Tygart of Jacksonville, Fla., had different
plans in mind. “I’m excited about it,"
she said. “I can’t wait to go partv!”
The University Editor can be reached
at udesk@unc.edu.
1 '
Screen Screamers
d|||lb
Diverse
Hollywood
i returned
\ to the
scary side
of films
\ with a
5 string of
psychological
thrillers. Diversions looks
into the phenomenon of why we
like to be scared by movies like “The
Blair Witch Project," “The Sixth Sense"
and “Stigmata." See Page 5.
Still Workin’
Due to Wednesday night’s weather, the
DTH went to press four hours early.
For in-depth campus and state
coverage of Hurricane Floyd, pick up
Friday’s issue. Until then, check out our
online site at www.unc.edu/dth.
Feel free to contact the office with any
storm-related news tips at 962-4086
or at melson@email.unc.edu.
Meanwhile, sit back and stay dry.