Friday, September 17, 1999
Hurricane-weary residents feel tired, lucky
BY MARK CURNUTTE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Andrew Waldrop carries Jajuan Newkirk, 6, from a pickup after it got caught by a current near Wallace, N.C.
(Michael E. Keating photos)
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WILMINGTON, N.C. — Floyd was the mild-mannered North Carolina barber on The Andy Griffith Show. And like the hair-cutter, Hurricane Floyd just took a little off the sides — to the relief of North Carolinians — when it blew through the state early Thursday.
The storm, originally feared to be one of the centu ry's most damaging, weakened as it moved up the Atlantic Coast but still dumped heavy rains on the Carolinas.
By early afternoon, the skies cleared and the sun shone in Wilmington. People came out of their homes to talk with neighbors and examine their property.
“About 3:30 this morning, it sounded like a freight train was running across the roof,” said Joe Brown Jr., 51, of Wilmington. A large tree branch had fallen on his chimney, loosening bricks, but missing the house. He pointed to a tree on the other side of his house. “See, (Hurricane) Fran got that one in 1996. It missed me, too.
“I never run away from them — Fran, Floyd. The Lord saw me through it. He's the sole provider.”
Tattered flag flies along Water Street in Wilmington, N.C.
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In downtown Wilmington, where the Cape Fear River runs into the Atlantic Ocean, merchants surveyed damage, which was light.
“Would have been a lot worse if we hadn't boarded the windows,” said Angelo Fragos, 35, owner of the Dixie Grill on Market Street.
The diner is a favorite of actors and directors who come to town to film movies. North Carolina's film industry has long been the nation's third-largest, behind California and New York.
Nineteen films have shot in the Dixie Grill. The TNT production Freedom Song, a civil rights story starring Danny Glover, was the most recent. Nick Nolte used to be a regular. Dennis Hopper lived around the corner part time for five years in the restored Masonic Temple building before he sold it a couple of years ago. A framed, autographed photo of Henry Winkler smiled down from the wall behind the counter.
The worn expression on Mr. Fragos' face suggested he'd just lived through a horror movie.
“Slept four hours in two nights,” he said. “We were lucky.”
And prepared. Billboard companies in Wilmington dismantled outdoor signs and strapped the pieces against posts. Most business owners put up plywood. Those who didn't, like homeowners, stripped packaging tape on glass panes to prevent shattering.
The sign above RVW Waterbeds offered one word of advice: “Pray.”
Missie Dixon, 19, carried her friend on her back across RVW's flooded parking lot. Michelle Galligan, 21, wore long pants and didn't want them to get wet.
The women were slap-happy.
“Scary night,” Ms. Dixon said. “No power. Window shook from the wind. And it poured.”
North Carolina was just recovering from Hurricane Dennis, which also produced heavy rains. The soft, wet ground enabled Floyd's winds to uproot dozens of large trees in the town of Faison, about halfway between Raleigh and Wilmington on Interstate 40.
“Most rain I seen in all my 25 years,” volunteer firefighter Rodney Lambert said.
John Rose, wife Sonya, and son Allen, 3, spent Wednesday night in a shelter in the Faison Baptist Church. Mr. Rose was injured in an automobile accident two years ago and now uses a wheelchair.
“We used to be able to ride them out,” he said. “Not now.”
The Roses had to try three detours to get back to their home Thursday morning.
Water made many roads impassable.
They live in an agricultural area. Faison is home to Cates Pickles. Nearby is Mount Olive, N.C., home of Mt. Olive Pickles. The fields are also filled with strawberries. Poultry is big business here, too.
John Rose's father, the Rev. Paul Rose, is pastor of Faison Baptist Church. He said 16,000 chickens were floating dead, not far from Goshen Swamp.
“Coops flooded,” the Rev. Mr. Rose said.
By mid-afternoon, water levels between Raleigh and Wilmington had dropped, and roads began drying. There were exceptions.
In Burgaw, about 30 miles north of Wilmington, Burgaw Creek overflowed. Water flooded N.C. 53 for several blocks. Water came 18 inches into Terry Bland's house.
Instead of getting mad, Mr. Bland and five family members decided to eat.
He backed his truck against the front stoop. In the bed was a gas grill. He fired it up mid-afternoon and started to grill bacon for sandwiches.
Among those gathered to eat was his nephew, Shawn Rhodes, 23, and his wife and 3-year-old son. The family car was flooded, but he wasn't upset.
“The creek's come up before, but never this high,” Mr. Rhodes said. “At least everybody's OK.”
His uncle called. Time to eat. Mr. Rhodes waded back to the porch through 2-foot high water and expressed in a sigh what could easily speak for most of North Carolina.
“Could have been so much worse.”
Floodwaters create drama on roadways
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