Hurricane Floyd: Run from the Water and Hide from the Wind

Hurricane Floyd was the sixth named storm, fourth hurricane, and third major hurricane in the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season. Floyd triggered the third largest evacuation in US history (behind Hurricane Gustav and Hurricane Rita) when 2.6 million coastal residents of five states including Georgia were ordered from their homes as Hurricane Floyd approached.

It just so happens that Hurricane Floyd is the last hurricane to directly threaten Savannah. And I was able to find an article from The New York Times reporting on this historical event.

September 15, 1999

The evacuation of Savannah began at dawn today, an endless motorized march of streaming engines and crying children fleeing the winds that threatened this old city's historic buildings and Spanish moss.

More than half a million people were on the move today away from the Georgia coast, and most of those were in slow lines of traffic leading away from Savannah and surrounding Chatham County, where the evacuation became mandatory at noon. Forecasters said there was a strong chance the eye of Hurricane Floyd could come ashore within 20 miles of downtown on Wednesday or Thursday.

Although the weather was clear and hot today, county officials decided not to delay the evacuation orders, figuring that it could take as long as 28 hours to clear the county's 225,500 people. Surrounded by rivers and inlets, the county is particularly difficult to evacuate, and it has been 10 years since officials have even tried--back when there was an abortive strike by Hurricane Hugo.

As a result, the interstates and other arteries out of town were packed from sunrise until well past nightfall, as residents headed to fully booked hotels in central Georgia and relatives in Atlanta. All lanes on Interstate 16, the main route from the coast, were made westbound for 90 miles, and on some sections, walking was faster.

"It's just a good thing we're not in a hurry," said a woman who called a Savannah radio station on her cell phone this afternoon. "If Floyd were coming today, we'd be killing each other out here."

Police officials said that few people had refused to comply with the orders in Savannah, where some of the moody old homes on Victory Drive were boarded up but most were dark and abandoned. Since many of the homes are huddled around squares, some residents felt they would be sheltered. But there was concern that winds, debris and rain could damage the old structures.

"A whole lot of people are really worried right now that the character of the city will not be the same," said the city manager, Michael Brown, according to The Associated Press.

Many residents said they are afraid of looting, but there were scores of police cars cruising the streets, and unmarked police cars were posted at intersections leading to prosperous neighborhoods.

County emergency management officials said the movement out was generally orderly, with a minimum of honking and fender benders. But there were serious problems moving the poor, the elderly and the sick, many of whom had no access to transportation.

Those who needed rides were told to go to the Savannah Civic Center downtown, where buses would take them to shelters inland. But the county could not supply enough buses to move the thousands of people who showed up, and there were shoving matches whenever a bus arrived. Many people wound up waiting most of the day for a ride.

"It was panic, pure and simple," said Bert Graitham, a retired mechanic who uses a wheelchair and was unable to board any of the school buses the county pressed into service this afternoon.

"People were pushing past old folks and kids and squeezing on those buses like their lives depended on it," Mr. Graitham said. "They told me a van would be coming with a lift, but I sure haven't seen it yet."

Almost every business, restaurant and hotel in the region was closed. Hospitals stayed open but warned residents not to show up without a serious emergency.

Tropical storm have generally been kind to Georgia, protected by its recessed coastline. The last big one to come ashore here was Hurricane David, which did substantial damage in 1979. But officials warned that Hurricane Floyd had far more destructive potential. If it does make landfall near Savannah, said Gary McConnell, Georgia's emergency management director, it will be "the most dangerous storm ever to hit Georgia."

The well-publicized warnings convinced most people to leave the area, and county officials said they were pleased with a 60 percent complianice rate by 6p.m., a rate expected to go higher by morning.

Holdouts were particulary few in the low-lying coastal islands southeast of the city. By 2p.m., almost everyone had left Tybee and Talahi Islands, which could well be engulfed by storm surges on Wednesday and Thursday. Even the Tybee Optimists Club was boarded up. It had been so long since there had been a serious threat, however, that a few residents could barely bring themselves to leave.

"I guess I'll leave in a few hours, once the traffic dies down, "said John Wylly, who grew up on Tybee Island and was mowing his lawn in the warm afternoon breeze. "We once found some letters from 100 years ago by a guy who said the flooding from a hurricane was so bad they had to swim from house to house. I guess that's what we're looking at now, so we're all getting out of here."

Minutes later, Mr. Wylly's father, a collector of antique cars, drove up in a Model T Ford and laughingly said he wanted to take a last look at the beaches. He said he would reluctantly change cars before leaving, as the old Ford refused to go faster than 30 miles per hour.

So does this article take you back to the day? If so, please share your memories.
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