Hurricane Below (1974)

[Music] so [Music] looking good keep them coming bring them in bring them in let's do all right today september along the fishing banks off the coast of south carolina a good time and a good place for catching fish the crew of the dragger dante know well that if you don't mind hard work and long hours you can earn a good day's pay out here maybe we saw the hogs today kevin you're dreaming we got three four days out yet come on let's get those fish in another three or four days if the weather holds september can bring calm and sunny weather to these waters it can also bring death and destruction within the next 48 hours this tiny fishing vessel will experience the full horrors of perhaps nature's most terrifying natural disaster [Music] [Music] do several days ago off the coast of africa a small event took place a common thing that would be insignificant in most times and places but not here [Music] it began simply as an area of low pressure but in this part of the world between june and november these innocent low pressure areas are known as weather breeders as air moves into the low pressure spot to fill a vacuum it begins to spin as the earth turns on its axis little by little over a period of days the spin gathers intensity the winds grow stronger the storm area grows larger the center becomes tighter more violent as the winds top 74 miles per hour the storm becomes a hurricane men of the sea have fished these waters since the days of the first settlers and always they have lived in fear of being overtaken by the ravaging surprises of nature by the hurricanes born in the tropics far out of sight in the atlantic or in the caribbean or the gulf of mexico throughout man's history these giant storms have arrived with little warning and more frequently as deadly surprises we can't stop hurricanes but now we can at least be forewarned more quickly and accurately and hopefully better prepared since 1960 weather satellites have given us the ability to observe and track a hurricane from the time of its birth predict its course and sound a life-saving warning [Music] these satellites developed and launched by nasa and operated by the national oceanic and atmospheric administration noaa feedback vital data that can be incorporated into forecasts and warnings the space age has enabled us to witness what no man has ever before seen the development of a tropical storm and its growth into a hurricane noaa national hurricane center marine advisory number 24 storm mimi change gale warnings to hurricane warnings from marathon to vero beach gale warnings and a hurricane watch remain in effect reports this morning indicate that mimi strengthened during the night and has become a full hurricane highest sustained winds near the center are 90 miles per hour with gusts to 110 at 6am eastern daylight time hurricane mimi was located by satellite pictures coastal radar and reconnaissance aircraft near latitude 24 degrees north longitude 79 degrees west it is moving northwest to 10 miles per hour and is expected to reach the coast early tonight it is a frightening and wrenching experience to flee an approaching hurricane nothing can make this any easier however modern technology makes early warning possible and has helped save many thousands of [Music] the dante lives hear me call but daddy is standing by carl everybody here is staying hockey you coming in no hurricane here storm's hitting to the side we're staying out sure you're out of the way no she ain't coming this way you do the cooking i'll do the fishing kids need me i gotta go now i'm off carl mimi slams the shore with unladylike violence the water rises in a storm surge a wind-driven tide of rapid flooding it will account for 9 out of every 10 hurricane deaths every now and then a tornado with even stronger winds will leap off from the advancing storm front and lash havoc across the landscape the eye of the hurricane a deceiving low with gentle winds and almost clear skies suddenly the full fury begins again with winds now howling from exactly the opposite direction sending objects flying like toy airplanes yet the hurricane's cruel energy is being spent as long as it remains over land no longer able to draw power from the warmth and moisture of the ocean the storm will slowly die but mimi has some tricks left instead of dying over the land she veers back again to see [Music] she leaves behind a battlefield of aching memories [Music] for fishermen like the crew of the dante mimi is still a threat even as it passes far to the south of them for the path of a hurricane is erratic forever uncertain it must be constantly watched noaa national hurricane center marine advisory number 32. hurricane mimi gale warnings and hurricane watch are in effect from charleston to cape hatteras satellite pictures and reconnaissance reports confirm that hurricane mimi has veered during the night and now poses a serious threat to the carolina coast the danger that has been distant and remote now comes closer to the men of the dante the storm has veered back toward them the warning gives them no time to lose they must cut away their precious nets and make a dash to the north their only hope of survival [Music] [Music] in spite of advance warnings there are always some who foolishly stay behind it just came down through this area just like an ocean wave more or less and these people right in here they just didn't have a chance and just took every all these houses through here was anyone living in the house yes and there's uh oliver boy and his wife and two little children the little children they got drowned and my house was under 12 feet of water and i've seen everybody all my family has to have destruction in their homes and we and i never i hope i never see nothing like this again i'm not a young but it just takes this hard blow it's bound to be in here somewhere because all these are the houses that came from in this vicinity they're all ready in here in this neighborhood but mine was right there on the corner not only yeah [Music] for some the tragedy has been immediate for others it is a time of suspense we're all right thank god but my husband's out fishing the storm came right through him before it hit shore and i can't get him on the radio all i can do is pray he heard the weather report and got out of there all i can do is pray [Music] the rising sun finds the dante fishing her way toward home the storm has died its fearful winds dissipated at last many miles inland the fishermen through careful sailing escaped the storm last night just fairly colin station eight but daddy is calling station eight station eight car you all right sure i couldn't get you before i had to run to the easter we're fishing again now one more dragon we come in [Music] last night he had all he could do to keep the dante from swamping but now that the storm has passed the captain has time to think to think about modern technology ship-to-shore communication and earth satellites especially about weather satellites which far above his tiny vessel in the blackness of outer space helped him and thousands of others on land escape from the horrors of the hurricane below i hope everybody in town of takes it on the chin and starts all over again it's going to be tough i don't know whether everybody can afford it or not but i'm going to give it a whirl [Music] everyone seems to be in high spirits why is [Music] [Applause] that there's one thing for sure we will rebuild yeah we got a beautiful country down here we'll make it beautiful again [Music] you