September 18, 2000
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More on Hurricanes
Another hurricane in fairly recent times that caused a lot of damage in North Carolina was Hugo, in 1989. He missed my area of the state for the most part, but there was a lot of damage in the area near my hometown. My mother's house wasn't damaged, but a couple of tree limbs did some damage to the fence.
The oddest part of the Hugo aftermath that I've seen is that sone vegetation wound up getting planted in places where it should not be. There are at least two small trees in the front yard at Mother's house that came about this way.
It was about six weeks after the storm had gone through that I made a trip home. I remember vividly realizing that I had entered the area of the storm's path when I started seeing downed trees along the side of the highway. It was an awesome, aweful sight.
A lot of people in that part of the state were traumatized by the storm. It was the first time that most of the residents ever had to consider the possibility that a hurricane could cause that much damage well over two hundred miles inland.
Now, since Hugo and Fran and Floyd have made their inland appearances, news coverage intensifies anytime a hurricane is talked about, no matter how unlikely it is that the particular storm will reach North Carolina.
The coverage always includes reminders of the horrors of prior encounters of storm and area, of course, to drive home the point that it can indeed happen here. A little of that, for newcomers to the area, is necessary, of course.
But in some ways, I'm not sure the intense coverage at those times is a good thing. I'm afraid it may backfire; that it will come to sound like cries of wolf. And that would defeat the purpose of having the coverage.
Several people have shared storm memories in the forum. Come share yours!