Title: Coast watch
Identifier: coastwatch00uncs_1 (find matches)
Year: 1979 (1970s)
Authors: UNC Sea Grant College Program
Subjects: Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology
Publisher: (Raleigh, N. C. : UNC Sea Grant College Program)
Contributing Library: State Library of North Carolina
Digitizing Sponsor: North Carolina Digital Heritage Center

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Photo courtesy of The Carteret County News-Times Photo by Kathy Hart
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Front Street in Beaufort as Hurricane Hazel struck in 1954 John Sanders families to develop hurricane preparedness plans. • An appearance on "Almanac," a television program produced by the N.C. Agricultural Extension Service, where he explained the destructiveness of a hurricane and how to prepare and respond when one is forecast. • Schooling broadcast and print journalists along with local emergency management coordinators in a statewide workshop, "Hurricane Preparedness: A Community and Family Responsibility." • Developing a hurricane safety checklist tailored for North Carolina use. • Working to coordinate hurricane preparedness efforts between state agencies such as the Department of Emergency Management and Office of Coastal Management. • Introducing new research and methodologies that will assist emergency management coordinators in developing evacuation plans. • Developing educational tools that can be used in the public schools to ex- plain what are hurricanes and how to respond if one occurs. Sanders and Hinn both say the media has been responsive to publishing and broadcasting hurricane-preparedness stories, thus reaching more and more people about the potential dangers of a hurricane. The Marine Resources Centers at Roanoke Island, Bogue Banks and Fort Fisher each sponsor a "Hurricane Awareness Week" in August every year. Sanders, Spencer Rogers (UNC Sea Grant's coastal engineer), meteorologists from the NWS and emergency management coordinators speak to audiences about hurricanes during the week. The Marine Resources Center at Bogue Banks also is putting up a hurricane exhibit. Sanders says he believes more people are increasing their hurricane awareness. "When I go into an area and begin to talk about hurricanes, people seem better able to respond," he says. "And they are taking a more active role in developing hurricane preparedness plans." —Kathy Hart Planning for the inevitable storm A hurricane is building in the Carib- bean. It begins a track northward on a course that marks its landfall as the central North Carolina coast. How do state and local emergency manage- ment personnel respond to ensure the public's safety? Most of the work for evacuation plans was done before hurricane season ever began. The state Division of Emergency Management developed and issued a county prototype evacua- tion plan seven years ago to the 18 coastal counties. From this plan each county developed its own county evacuation plan. These plans are up- dated and changed as situations and conditions change in the county. The Division of Emergency Management also developed a state plan that will activate state agencies such as the Department of Transpor- tation, which controls the coastal ferry and bridge system, and the Highway Patrol, which would assist with traffic control. Emergency Management also is helping industries such as Weyerhauser to develop their own hurricane plans. As hurricane season begins June 1, the state and county emergency management offices go into a "condi- tion five alert" which they will main- tain throughout hurricane season. If a hurricane advisory is issued for North Carolina a "condition four alert" would be established. Plans are reviewed and shelters checked. When a hurricane watch is posted (48 hours in advance of possible landfall) a "condi- tion three alert" is set. Sheriff's Continued on next page

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