The Beaufort News | All eyes keeping watch on powerful isabel

ISABEL - Storm of 2003 September 14 2003 The Beaufort News All Eyes Keeping Watch on Powerful Isabel No matter where massive, well-formed hurricane Isabel goes, Carteret County will get a piece of her action.

“It’s out there and it’s not going to just go away,” said Carteret County Emergency Management Director Mike Addertion. “Starting Sunday, people have about five days to prepare.”

At 5 p.m. Saturday, the storm, after briefly dropping to a Category 4, had regained strength and become a Category 5 again, with maximum sustained winds near 160 mph.

The storm, 375 miles northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico, was moving west-northwest.

The storm is going to affect somebody on the East Coast, and North Carolina is a likely scenario.

Landfall south of here would still create problems along the Crystal Coast, as could weather generated if the storm were to pass just offshore.

“The best estimate is that whatever is going to happen will happen Thursday night or Friday,” Mr. Addertion said.

Emergency management officials don’t expect a lot of visitors this week, so evacuation and other plans should not be as difficult as they would be if the storm hit when the county is full of tourists.

Residents, he said, should be thinking about whether they are going to ride out the storm or evacuate.

“Those who are going to stay need to be making preparation for protecting the structures they are going to stay in,” Mr. Addertion said.

If they are going to leave the county, they need to start figuring out where they are going. If they are going to a hotel, they probably need to make arrangements for Thursday night and Friday night.

Either way, property owners need to get supplies to protect their homes, such as plywood or shutters and other materials.

With any of the many scenarios, it is possible we will lose electricity, Mr. Addertion continued. If you are going to use a generator, get it early in the week, get it home and practice with it and make sure it has plenty of fuel.

The first of the week isn’t too early, either, to gather up medicines, non-perishable food items, water and other supplies.

Bogue Banks officials dread to give title to “that thing” crossing the Atlantic Ocean, but Hurricane Isabel’s threat is pushing preparations anyway.

“We want no hurricanes,” Emerald Isle fire Chief Bill Walker said simply, but his town is ready to shut down if the storm forces the county to evacuate Bogue Banks.

Though on an unknown path, Hurricane Isabel means town hall phones from Atlantic Beach to the west are busy with property owners needing to know how they’ll get help to their homes after a hurricane hit.

All the towns except Atlantic Beach issue permanent storm re-entry passes to property owners so they can return once the State Highway Patrol opens the island’s two bridges and once the towns hit accessed damages. Atlantic Beach will still require evidence of residence or ownership for re-entry.

Mr. Addertion said most residents should expect sustained 70 mph winds when the storm makes landfall, with stronger winds and gusts across the eastern half of the county.

He also warned of the potential for tornadoes as the storm hits land.

“The fact that the storm is getting wider is more of a concern to me than the intensity but it is expected to speed up its forward motion, which is somewhat of a relief,” he said.

Preliminary rainfall projections are for anywhere from three to six inches, depending on how fast the storm passes.

Troopers will monitor Bogue Banks bridges, and law enforcement officials on the barrier island will enforce a curfew from 7 p.m.

Wednesday through 7 a.m. Thursday.

Officials urged visitors estimated to be between 1000 and 6000 to leave the county before the evacuation order is put into effect.

“Visitor should have already left,” Mr. Addertion said Tuesday morning.

School Closings – Carteret Community College and county school officials decided to cancel classes for students Wednesday and Thursday. If the storm misses the county, classes will be held Friday.

With the college taking hard hits from previous storms and with new construction under way, faculty and staff were busy securing the campus Tuesday.

“Materials at the construction site are being covered and secured,” said CCC President Dr. Joe Barwick. “Buildings are being secured as much as possible. We just replaced the windows in the McGee Building which had been a source of water intrusion in past hurricanes.

Hopefully that will help.”

Carteret County Schools Public Information Director Tabbie Merrill encouraged parents to check the schools website for closings and delays. The address is www.carteretcountyschools.org.

When you get to the site click on “closings and delays”.

Other Preparations – As Hurricane Isabel lurked offshore, businesses, builders, utilities, the port and the military moved into high gear.

Generators and plywood flew out of building supply and discount department stores like wind-whipped beach sand.

Those stores and others were swarmed Monday with customers swiftly snatching not only plywood and generators, but also batteries, tarps, charcoal and gas grills, flashlights and lanterns and gasoline containers.

Some, of course, bought duct tape, the all-purpose fastener and fixer of choice for generations of handymen and homeowners.

Grocers were prepared for the big rush of shoppers on Monday.

“The morning was real busy and I expect we will get a lot of business later this evening,” Newport Food Lion Manager Donnie Williams said Monday morning.

One cashier at the Food Lion in Atlantic Beach pointed out that some folks started stocking up on bread and milk as early as Sunday.

Building Lee Collins and his crew spent most of the day Monday securing houses he has under construction at Spooner’s Creek and Brandywine Bay near Morehead City.

“I’m not boarding up windows, just blocking the doors so they don’t blow open during the storm,” he said.

“All we can do is prepare. Prepare and hope for the best,” said John McCallum, owner of Taylor Boat Works in Morehead City.

Power company officials have their emergency storm response plans in place as well.

Bill Ward with Carteret-Craven Electric Cooperative, CCEC, said food has been purchased and motel rooms reserved for powerline crews from other communities should they be needed.

He said CCEC maintains a year-round tree-trimming program designed to minimize power outages caused by falling limbs. Still with the amount of rain this area has seen and the heavy rains and strong winds associated with the storm, trees and poles are likely to topple.

“Once the power goes out, it’s important that people turn off anything they don’t absolutely need,” said Lonnie Moore, vice president of engineering and operations for Carteret-Craven Electric Cooperative.

There are exceptions. A light inside the house should be left on to signal when power has been restored and the porch light should be switched on so cooperative line personnel can tell which homes have their electricity back.

Travis Davis at Harkers Island Electric Membership and Water department said storm preparations began Friday, when crews stocked their trucks according to a pre-storm inventory checklist. Crews on Monday were trimming tree limbs along Harkers Island Road.

At the port in Morehead City, preparations have included sandbagging vulnerable buildings, securing and blocking warehouse doors, and moving small equipment, vehicles and anything else that could readily blow or float away.

No ships will remain at the docks during the hurricane and cranes at the ports are secured.

Coast Guard search-and-rescue operations may not be available immediately before, during and after the storm passes, so mariners

were urged to take early action to protect themselves and their vessels.

Officials at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point said they have reviewed their destructive weather and evacuation plans and were ready to act as necessary. Capt. Bruce Frame, Cherry Point Public Affairs Officer said Monday.

Bogue Banks – Emerald Isle department heads checked their hurricane to-do lists on Monday and Tuesday, and all were waiting to see whether Hurricane Isabel would require evacuation said Town Manager Frank Rush.

Meanwhile scads of property owners were lining up for their yellow reentry passes, which were available up until 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Mr. Rush said he planned to ride the hurricane out with essential personnel at town hall unless the storm’s strength forced them to move inland.

The town also is ready to handle post-storm cleanup with a damage assessment team and a debris contractor capable of being on-scene within 48 hours, Mr. Rush said.

Similarly, Indian Beach and Pine Knoll Shores have reviewed their disaster plans and are ready to face the storm.

Those towns have also been inundated with property owners seeking re-entry permits.

“We’ve got our supplies,” said Indian Beach Police Chief George Phillips. “But I’m not going to get caught over here with my pants down.”

He encouraged residents to heed any call for evacuation.

“To me, property doesn’t mean anything if you’re dead,” he said.

Pine Knoll Shores Mayor Robert Gallo planned to stay on the island with other town officials.

Carolina Water Service will shut off the town’s water supply, if deemed necessary. Town officials, however, will have the final say in that decision.

Atlantic Beach manager Pete Allen said he had met with his staff, including department heads, on Sunday, then again Monday morning.

The town was well into its normal hurricane planning schedule by midmorning Monday, topping off gas tanks in town vehicles making plans to board up town facilities and bringing in extra pumps that might be needed to handle flooding.

The town planned ahead to relocate key personnel, if necessary, to the Carteret Craven Electric Membership Corp. facility on Highway 24 west of Morehead City. But Mr. Allen said he planned to ride the storm out in town hall no matter what.

He expressed confidence that the town’s system for letting residents and property owners back in after the storm – the town abandoned reentry passes last year – will work adequately, although he said he preferred the pass system, which is still being used by the other towns on Bogue Banks.

Elsewhere – Morehead City Manager Randy Martin said the county’s largest municipality was taking the storm very seriously and planning for the worst. But the city is in better shape than ever to handle a major storm.

Visitors at Cape Lookout National Seashore were evacuated and the entire park was closed to visitors, ferry service and other services at 4 p.m. Monday.

Superintendent Robert A. Vogel said the park would be closed until further notice.’