Hurricane Strands Thousands, Floods Towns, Blocks Rescuers At Least 17 Killed As Fran Loses Power But Keeps Dumping Rain
Hurricane Fran 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 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 with 115 mph winds on Thursday night before weakening to a 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, 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 from flooding Tuesday and Wednesday, when 5 inches of rain fell.
Water lapped over reservoirs and threatened to breach earthen dams. The town of Elkton, in the western foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, was an island, with water covering all roads 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,” Fire Chief Mike Neal said. “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 at about 7 p.m.
In North Carolina, 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 disaster in North Carolina and Virginia, making storm victims eligible for federal loans.
Clinton also dispatched James Lee Witt, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to oversee recovery efforts.
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.
Entire neighborhoods remained knee-deep in water Friday. The remains of a half-dozen homes littered the highway in Surf City, and telephone poles leaned against the ones still standing. In the sound west of Topsail Beach, one home could be seen floating slowly away.
And on Carolina Beach, residents of The Breakers condominium complex emerged unscathed. They had called 911 in a panic, fearing a building collapse when floating cars and garbage bins were slamming into the walls. By then, it was far too dangerous to attempt a rescue.