Hurricane Decision (1976)

please set your volume control at the level of my voice [Music] [Music] so this event today from the kind of bargains you can only get on Labor Day don't wait say events this weekend and now the weather the latest official forecast from the National Weather Service tells us that it will be sunny and warm the valence of the day are high in the 90s clear and balmy tonight with a low in the 70s tomorrow for the same perfect weather for this Labor Day weekend that's the news and weather up to the moment and again in 30 minutes [Music] perfect weather for this Labor Day weekend everything has come together right sunny weather the last big holiday weekend of summer and a lot of people with a lot of plans to make it a big one [Music] they pack themselves in the cars trailers campers and then pack those on the crowded highways bridges cause waves and when they get there they'll sail swim and Sun ad just maybe stand in the path of disaster this man is dr. Neil Frank he's director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami and he has a sense of the problem he was going to stay home today he should have known better Sarge for your weekend yeah it looks like we may have another Labor Day storm oh yes I'm afraid so as you can see here there's been an awful lot of developed in the last 24 hours so this is certainly a system that's going to develop okay now this is one that came off for back up to a couple days yes about three days ago hey we had any ship reports we've had some chips very near but not right in it but enough to establish the circulation okay what's the status of recon we have a reconnaissance flight all set up the plane is leaving Mississippi this afternoon for Puerto Rico and he'll be out in the storm area the first thing in the morning he has plenty of time yeah plenty time to mention well let's see what it looks like on that movie okay Joe nemenyi ours is this new cover if there are covers a six-hour period the last one was two hours ago well you can certainly see that it's better organized today than it was yesterday yes it is it's becoming a little better organized the NOAA weather satellite picture the first line of defense in hurricane forecasting high yet no individual pictures are joined to form a loop a precise picture of the behavior of this storm satellites I used to watch the weather to track the storms and they're part of a broad base of technology and expertise [Music] machines and people all AM dat getting the information in making some sense of it and getting it out as fast as possible [Music] this new storm developed off the coast of Africa just like many of the others just like a past storm shown on this satellite boo storm starts is a week in disorganized low-pressure area then it builds and moves often erratically picking up speed and intensity as it moves westward this new storm a curve and snake its way across the South Atlantic and then aim itself at a coastline and people then the second line of defense when the storm threatens Air Force planes go out they fly directly into the storm right to the center the eye they take readings observations and report those back to Miami and the last line of defense radar giving last-minute positions of the storm comes closer to the coast [Music] [Applause] scientists need to understand all they can about hurricanes so NOAA research planes go out to gather information on these giant storms [Music] the lesson of history is that we can't know too much [Music] the forecaster knows a lot but science is only part of his job the other part is people in getting warnings and advice out to them and that's a problem most of them have never gone through a hurricane and may not listen people in Galveston Texas at the turn of the century a hurricane did hit and 6000 people were killed in 1928 in South Florida 2,000 dead in 1938 in the Northeast 600 lives lost and not just coastal residents in 1972 the remains of Hurricane Agnes swept inland and 118 died the lesson of history is that it repeats itself the problem is growing because the population is growing millions have moved to the beaches the coastal areas attracted by the lifestyles there in ten years the population jumped by 40% many of them came from areas far away from the coast and they don't know that people hundreds of miles from the center of a hurricane are in danger and until they're hit by a storm many of them won't give it much thought [Music] south or north all over they've come to feel secure in their houses or in their high-rises even in their mobile homes they feel secure but they're not when a storm threatens what's the decision stay or go getting out may be the only answer and that's another problem getting out may mean traveling over bridges and cause waves sometimes there's only one way out the Florida Keys the ocean beaches of Maryland New England those who don't listen or wait too long may find themselves in real trouble and now this new storm in Gulfport Mississippi wait guys he's civil defense director for that region oh yes the people of the Mississippi Gulf Coast are monitoring this storm you can rest assured of that you know today was a day very much like the day that Hurricane Camille hit Harrison County and the Mississippi Gulf Coast beautiful sunny day in 1969 I'd like to show you the extent that one of our citizens went to to provide hurricane protection let me show you a hurricane proof house these steps lead to the hurricane-proof house designed and built by Sam Owens Sam took a lot of pride in the construction of this structure he personally examined every tire down vote every piece of structural steel every foot of concrete that was laid seven people perished in this hurricane-proof house the night of the stone wood begged them from the operation center to evacuate the area but they were confident that the house would hold up now of course it makes good common sense to build a structure that withstand the forces of the elements but why hang your life on it the storm served its a rising wall of water topped with pounding waves the storm surge claims nine out of every ten lives lost in a hurricane and add to this devastating high winds this is the aftermath of hurricane Eloise an average storm as hurricanes go get the water that came roaring in was 16 feet high [Music] when Camille hit the Gulf Coast the storm weighed guys talked about it was 25 feet high away from the coast a storm can cause other problems it may lose its hurricane status but that's cold comfort to the people along flooded rivers and streams cold comfort to those who've lost their families to those who've lost friends and homes the surge the high winds the inland flooding the danger I'm sorry what they say at the hurricane center they monitor every change in the storm every change in direction speed strength they've issued a hurricane watch a first stage alert and they've named this storm Cris a B C for Chris the third one this season it could strike within 36 hours as they post the watch the complex machinery of community action is set into motion they still aren't sure but just in case they begin issuing advice through the media and through NOAA weather radio local statements specific advice aimed at a specific area or a blender to protect them with dog feathers at a [Music] communication getting the information in analyzing it and then trying to decide on that critical moment should the big word the warning go out [Music] wire services and television and radio and newspapers and the NOAA weather radio they're all there ready the center is evaluating all the information ready to make the decision [Music] well now that all the facts are in the storm is less than a day away now the decision the decision whether to issue the life or death warning that rests with a knowledge and judgment of one man we got thousands of people living along those beaches there if we wait till morning they might not have time to get out let's put up the warning the National Hurricane Center in Miami has just issued a hurricane warning for the coast from Jacksonville Florida to Cape Hatteras North Carolina hurricane Chris now has top winds of a hundred miles per hour it is centered 250 miles southeast of Savannah Georgia I am moving Northwest we'll have more details shortly stay tuned to this station for the latest weather information and emergency instruction so now it's official a storm named Chris is going to hit somewhere in an area from Jacksonville to Cape Hatteras six hundred miles three million people [Music] secure outdoor objectified people all the way or uprooted garbage cans gone to old toys 9/4 furniture in a number of other homicide on which may become sniffles of destruction in hurricane which to them uh store them inside before the storm strike store drinking water in plain bathtub cooking new temple the town's water supply may be contaminated by flooding or damage by hurricane flood check your battery-powered equipment your lady elves may be your only link with the world outside the hurricane and emergency cooking facilities lights and flashlights will be essential if utilities are interrupted mobile homes are extremely susceptible to high wear if you live in one leave it