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(meteorobs) Hurricane Fran Report: S. Carolina
Wednesday the Governor of South Carolina called for a mandatory evacuation
of all coastal areas, and dispatched the National Guard to implement it.
This order included my home, so with my door being banged on, I evacuated to
a safer location inland.
At the motel I stayed in (40 miles inland) we had sustained winds of only 35
mph with gusts of 50 mph. I am now back home and have found my home in fine
shape, with no damage other than broken tree limbs and a few small trees
down in the area. My neighbor and I installed some weather equipment in the
back field to record the storm, but Fran took it with her. So I only have a
guess at the wind speeds here, but from what the local media is reporting,
it was only about 80 to 90 mph. So for the second time this year, I "dodged
the bullet!"
One thing all these dry runs have done is allowed the people to practice
getting ready. I heard an estimated 500,000 people evacuated with little
trouble. The National Guard was on the streets in less than one hour and
there were already utility trucks and law enforcement vehicles arriving from
other states even before the hurricance was here.
But I have had enough practice...!
Mark Davis
MeteorObs@charlestondot net