- The water started comin' up

and then it just seeps in.

And it was very quiet
and soft and gentle

the way the water came up.

- We had gone through Bertha,
and so we had been through one

and we had prepared for it.

But it was all of a
sudden like really?

- I felt like I was
in another country.

I mean, I had no idea where
I was at Carolina Beach.

- We knew pretty much
we'd come back to nothing.

We knew that the pier
would probably be destroyed

as old as it was, and it
was gonna be a direct hit.

- I think one day we'll probably
see one worse than Fran.

As far as devastation, and
as wide-spread as it was,

I don't think people
realize how bad it was.

(dramatic music)

- This morning I have
declared a state of emergency

for all 100 counties
in North Carolina.

- We knew it was gonna
be stronger than Bertha.

We knew the storm had,
intensity-wise, was bigger.

The wind fields were larger.

Tidal surge was higher.

So we knew it was gonna be

a little bit more
devastating than Bertha was.

My name is Tom Collins.

At the time Fran made
landfall in North Carolina,

I was the Area Sea Coordinator

for the North Carolina Division
of Emergency Management.

- I've been here with you
in a lot of disasters.

And a lot of you new,
many of you not new.

And we hope and pray that
something will happen

and this won't come
at us with full force.

- [Tom Collins] The
urgency wasn't as great

because it looked like it
was gonna come into Georgia.

It never goes to Georgia.

- It kinda sputtered
along as it developed,

so it was a tropical
wave, tropical depression,

and then tropical storm.

But it really started
to gather strength

and get to major
hurricane status

in the vicinity of The Bahamas.

- [Tom Collins] It does
look like it was gonna

come into South Carolina.

That was on September
3rd on Tuesday.

- Our meteorologists
were telling us

in the earlier part
of the forecast

that it really wasn't going
to be that big of a deal.

And so we were convinced that

tropical storm Fran
was just going to

cruise through and
not be a big deal.

- Even though it was
supposed to go inland,

and it kept going, you
had a couple of days,

once it didn't take
that turn it was like

this is real, this is coming
right down our throats.

- [Tom Collins] By 11
o'clock we're feeling

gale-force winds, or
tropical storm winds.

34-knot winds.

- Our emergency
management officials

have been briefing me
for the past three days.

And it appears that Hurricane
Fran may be the biggest threat

that we've had in North
Carolina in a long time.

- As county commissioners,
we were overcome

with the gravity
of the situation.

I think we did a
good job eventually,

it was just one of
the hardest things

we've ever had to deal with.

- Most of you know last night

the beach towns had a
voluntary evacuation.

This morning the barrier islands
did a mandatory evacuation.

The schools are closed today.

- I'm Carolyn Justice,

and when Hurricane Fran struck
the coast of North Carolina,

I was a county commissioner
in Pender County,

and a small-business owner.

- I want to encourage everyone
in North Carolina to be safe.

- [Tom Collins] We're down
to about less than 30 hours.

And here, on September the
5th, it's decision time.

- The National Guard
has activated a large
amount of troops

highway patrol is
moving people around,

and DOT's got things in place.

Correction's ready
to go to work.

So we think we have
everything in place.

- [Tom Collins] We had to
make a decision to evacuate.

We're right on the edge of
this outer error slough.

- The error count is
basically the probability

that the storm is gonna
be somewhere in that cone,

66 and 2/3 percent of the time.

My name's Steve Pfaff,

I'm the Warning
Coordination Meteorologist

with the National
Weather Service Office

in Wilmington, North Carolina.

With Fran, originally it
was outside of the cone,

but as the models
get a better feel

for the environment that
it was going to move into,

the models keyed
in on a landfall

for southeast North Carolina,

and then the storm
went through the cone

and came ashore September
5th in the evening.

- The latest advisory
that was issued at about

half-hour ago, 11 o'clock has
moved the track of the storm

a little bit more
to the northeast.

Right now we're projecting
landfall near Calabash,

on the North Carolina
South Carolina state line,

10 or 11 o'clock tonight.

- [Tom Collins] The decision
was made to evacuate

and thank goodness a lot
of people heeded to--

- People need to leave
the barrier islands

and coastal towns immediately.

There should be
no one left there.

- The Governor has
declared all 100 counties

of North Carolina in
a state of emergency.

That's the first time
that's ever been done.

The letter that goes
to the President

has been sent by the Governor.

We have put everything
in place that we need

to get federal assistance
as soon as possible.

And as I think most of you know,

actually FEMA is
already here on-site,

and we're gonna be
up and ready to roll.

- If it impact on the course
it's goin' on right now

we're sure it's just gonna be
a pretty significant storm.

- We're makin' life
and death decisions

based off of a forecast.

The forecast can't
always be perfect.

We try to get as
perfect as we can,

but given the limitations

that Mother Nature
challenges us with,

it's often difficult.

- Mornin' of the 5th,
the storm's on us.

We were receivin' what
we call gale-force winds

that were at least 34 knots,

or around 40 miles
an hour, roughly.

What you see, this blue circle.

The storm at this point was
somewhere around 415 miles wide,

which, as you see as
big as the storm is,

that's the whole east
coast of North Carolina.

- We really want to indicate

where that is gonna
be the biggest threat,

where the impacts are
gonna be greatest,

and cut back on the false alarm

for other parts of the country.

- I don't wanna sound
like a profit of doom,

and we hope this won't happen,

but folks, you
need to understand

this thing could be
a whole lot worse

than anything most of
you've ever dealt with.

I've seen Long Beach when
there wasn't a house left.

And this could happen this time.

- Everybody was watching it.

We watched every hurricane
that comes this way.

- I think the fact that it
hit so quickly after Bertha,

everybody was like not again.

- Just before Fran hit,

we had gone through
Hurricane Bertha.

- And the wind was blowin' 100.

- [TV Announcer] And it
could get a little nasty here

all through the region.

We'll continue to keep you--

- That was the first
time I'd ever been

in the eye of a hurricane.

You could hear the Hurricane
Hunter airplane flyin' around.

- It wasn't that devastating.

It wasn't a Hurricane Fran,

though it did do a lot of
damage, took out a lot of trees.

- But I saw what
was goin' on then,

and six weeks later
Hurricane Fran was comin' in

with 115 mile an hour winds.

And I thought, 15 miles
an hour, I'll stay.

- Our fear was that would've
lulled people into complacency.

- Residents all
across North Carolina

from one end to the other,

need to heed warnings
of potential flooding

and high winds.

They need to go
immediately to high ground

and make sure that
property is secured.

- Take time out
for a quick video,

that's water level back there.

It's even over in my
high-rise, new deck.

It's about under water.

My name's Jim Mincher, I
moved to Wrightsville Beach

in 1974 and opened a bicycle
store which is still going.

And yes, I stayed at
Wrightsville Beach

during Hurricane Fran.

Was it a good decision?

I don't know.

But I did and it
was an experience.

We may not have any
video for a while

'cause we're gonna
start fightin' it.

You can see the water comin' up.

When the water
started comin' up,

of course I was movin' items.

I didn't want it to get wet.

Then all of a sudden I realized
the water was goin' down

so I grabbed the camera
and started filming.

Comin' in here, there's
a little step ladder,

it's not quite knee-deep.

Got everything piled
high as we can.

Bathroom doesn't smell too good.

Chairs,

sittin' a little
low in the water.

Cars floatin'.

Whole house is just a mess.

I was in a neighborhood
back from oceanfront,

and the water was calm.

Maybe a little ripples.

You could see stuff slowly
floating down the street.

But it wasn't waves and
action like the oceanfront.

- The winds really are
not that big of an issue

than it is with the tidal surge.

If you don't get outta the
way of the tidal surge,

you're stuck.

- [Camera Operator]
This is in the yard.

We've got our buckets ready.

- You're stuck in the
building, roads are blocked.

You can't get out,
you can't drive.

- You're not gonna be able
to get to the pharmacy.

You're not gonna be able
to get to the gas station.

If there is an emergency,
you're not gonna be able to

get to the emergency
room very easily

if you're in the
middle of the storm.

- Was approaching
cat. 4 at the time,

and that's when you don't
fool around with, at the time.

And so I said to Shiela,

I wanna get you and
the kids inland.

I want to be able to worry
about work and the newsroom.

I don't want to have to
worry about your safety.

- What was personally
very difficult for me,

my father was very
ill at the time.

As a matter of fact,
that was September

and he passed in October.

So it was very difficult for me

because I wanted to
be with my family

knowing that they were
not going to evacuate

because of his condition.

- The pressure is immense,

because you're always
at that moment,

should I leave, should I stay?

- You see how big these
emergency services vehicles are,

at 55 miles an hour these
things have a danger

of tippin' over.

We can't do really anything

when the storm
has made landfall.

So that's why now
when we prepare,

we try to get everybody
out of harm's way

prior to gale-force
winds arriving.

- We just had Hurricane
Bertha a few weeks prior,

and I felt like wow,
sort of a second chance.

Again that hurricane
weather geek in me

not worrying too much
about the impact,

more about the incredible
nature of the event.

I was definitely
determined to film it.

I'm Mark Sudduth and I lived
in Leland, North Carolina

when Hurricane Fran came over.

But filming it myself from the
different rooms in the house,

that was an exciting moment,

to be able to see the
effects of the hurricane,

but in the safety of the
enclosure of that house.

But then when the
eye wall came over

I decided well this is too much.

I didn't want to
miss it, it was dark,

so I just turned the car
around in the carport,

and aimed the headlights out,

put the camera on a
tripod and let it go.

- People naturally
feel they need to stay

and protect what's theirs.

But in a hurricane
with high winds,

you can't protect anything.

You can put up shutters,
which we all do,

but you can't protect
yourself from the wind.

Nor can you from the flooding
if it's that kind of event.

- If you don't get out of
the way of the tidal surge

you're stuck.

You're stuck in the
buildin', roads are blocked.

You can't get out
you can't drive.

- [Camera Operator]
Tryin' to get a shot

out the front of the door.

Actually, the water
level 20 minutes ago

was to the top of the
fence, it's comin' down.

Can see that.

- We heard stories about
there being hurricane parties

and everything else like that,

and then it's like, I don't
know if I could do that

at the time.

- I remember very
well talking to

a gentleman at Carolina
Beach who decided to stay

despite evacuation orders.

And he cried on the phone.

Was fearful that he was not
going to live through the storm.

- We had a lot of calls
for people, we need help.

We need rescue.

And it gets to a point
that we can't go out.

Our vehicles can't survive.

- It was completely
out of our hands.

And that's the way it is
with any natural disaster.

At some point if you've been
able to get out of harm's way

then that's a good thing.

If not, if you're a spiritual
person then you pray.

- 'Til you receive one
of those phone calls,

you don't know how...

I sorta get how they
feel in their mind but,

it's hopeless.

We're gonna die.

- I always knew there
was a possibility,

and I knew a lot of eyes
were on the other one,

Edouard I think was
the powerful one

that went off the coast.

- All eyes originally
were on Hurricane Edouard.

It was a category 4
hurricane at one point.

But fortunately that storm
stayed far off shore.

It did result in
large swells and waves

coming into the east coast,
causing multiple fatalities,

drownings from rip currents.

- Weather teams were
focusing on that one

and Fran was sitting
down there kinda quiet,

and it just sorta
sneaked up and got us.

- Once Edouard was
out of the picture

I think the focus certainly
shifted by the public

to Hurricane Fran.

And it's a good thing that
people were paying attention.

- We had the worst
side of the storm,

which is the northeast
quadrant of the storm.

If you take a hurricane,
split it right down the middle

and make four quadrants,

that northeast
quadrant of the storm

is always the worst 'cause
the way the storm rotates.

- And that's what's hit
Topsail Island and Hampstead.

We were surprised
by that (laughs).

Why us?

- You just have to be
always on your guard.

Doesn't matter if they're
calling for 25 storms,

We've been out, get
one to come close,

and that one is all it takes.

I'm Edwin Lore, and I
own the Surf City Pier.

And we rode Fran out,
pier was destroyed.

But I rebuilt it and
still going strong today.

There's no use in
crying over something

that you absolutely
have no power over.

There's nothing we
could do about it,

we knew pretty much we'd
come back to nothing.

We knew the pier would
probably be destroyed,

as old as it was, and it
was gonna be a direct hit.

That's the tackle shop, and
when they started it they--

We actually came out, we took
some of our light poles down.

We also took up every
third or fourth board

so that the water pressure
could come up between the cracks

and maybe loosen the
pressure on the main frame.

We got everything out of the
pier house that we could,

stored it in Smithfield.

When we rebuild I'm gonna put
it all right back down here.

And we'll just work.

I just had that
energy to rebuild.

We just kinda had fun with it.

I said you know when we get
back and see what we've got,

we'll just start
getting ready to rebuild

and get everything
back together.

And the island did a real good
job, the whole island did.

- This is the worst disaster
we've had in this century.

People say how does it compare?

It's the worst.

Nothin's touched it.

- [Camera Operator] Here's a
floating dock in the backyard

along with Boston Whaler.

Here's the roof of the
pier house next door.

- We're gonna do
everything we can

to help the people of North
Carolina and South Carolina

in this difficult time.

But again I say to you:
we need to be praying

for those people
and supporting them.

And there are doubtless people
here from those two states.

In addition to the hurricane
there has been and will be

more rain, and
there's a lot to do.

- We really had to wait
until the light of day

to see just how massive
the destruction was

from some of the South
Carolina line, Carolina Beach

and Topsail Island.

I mean that was the
shock to so many people.

When sun came up, that next
morning how bad things were.

- [Unknown Male] Kure Beach
had damage to about 200 homes,

some 25 homes were
lost completely.

The seawall at Fort
Fisher was not damaged

according to the town's mayor.

The damage there was
caused by the storm surge

- It was so
widespread and massive

but I think to me the one
thing I'll always remember

is the steeple from
First Baptist Church,

sitting right in the
middle of Market and 5th,

and just people saying
this 200-year old church,

why now?

- [Female Reporter] The First
Baptist Church in Wilmington

which was built
between 1860 and 1870,

was able to survive
the Civil War.

But the church's
197-foot steeple

could not survive
Hurricane Fran.

- That was the one in town.

At the beaches, I
hate to say that

you always see beach
destruction and devastation,

and I don't wanna say
it as a bad thing,

but the fact that
that steeple came down

right almost smack dab
in the middle of downtown

was a signal to me of just
how bad the storm was.

And then you see the devastation
along Topsail island.

- [Camera Operator]
Porch is gone.

Deck is gone.

The dune is gone.

- You saw where homes had been
moved from their foundations

across the street.

- Their damage wasn't just
houses gone and roofs gone,

the ocean completely
went across the island,

and left with it
several feet of sand.

- I know some places I saw
sand that was 8 feet deep.

- All the sand here was brought
in from overwash processes.

- Only way you could drive
was a four-wheel-drive,

and then we had National
Guard vehicles, Humvees.

- And what you're looking at

is individual overwash events.

A big surge comes,
drops some sand.

Another big surge comes and
drops another layer of sand.

Another big surge comes
drops another layer of sand.

So you're looking at the
history of the overwash events

in this area.

- I couldn't find
my aunt's house.

And we were walking
around Topsail beach

and I have no idea
where the house is.

I thought it was
supposed to be here,

but lo and behold
it was over here.

- It was very difficult for
people that even lived there

to get their bearings.

Sort of similar to like
when a tornado hits.

They just not only
couldn't get to their place

because of the sand, but
they had to deal with

finding what was left,
if there was anything.

It was a real sad time.

- What I can tell you
that we have in mind,

help with immediate services
such as debris removal,

repair of streets and highways,

emergency loans,
temporary housing,

and assistance to our farmers.

We have been
absolutely devastated.

- Actually up in the
air flyin' around,

you would see two, three
hundred acre tracks of timber.

It looks like somebody
took your hand

and it went boop.

- So many trees are down

that you don't
recognize where you are.

You lose your sense of
direction when trees are gone.

As a matter of fact,
in Pender County,

we lost a third of the
trees in the county.

- Folks this has
been a long week.

The folks have worked
hard, they prayed a lot.

And a lot of prayers
have been answered.

We've lost a lot
of our citizens,

and we've lost a
lot of our property.

But I think now
we're coming back.

- Governor Hunt came quickly.

Afterwards we were
pleased about that

and noted what a great job
Pender County had done.

But he also noted the
devastation on Topsail Island

and how hard this was
gonna be to overcome.

- It recovered well but it
did change the thinking.

Businesses come an go
as they always have,

but it's something you've
always gotta think about.

There's storms every year.

You might get the big one
that's gonna come in here

and take everything away again.

- It took a while to
get back from that one.

And it would take a while to
get back from another one.

But I think if there's
any kind of community

along the east coast
that would do it,

it's southeastern
North Carolina.

It's a tough town.

These are tough people, they
rebound really, really well.

Now there are a lot of people
who have moved here since,

who hasn't been through
anything like Fran or Floyd.

- I think people
are gonna be floored

by what another
Hazel type of storm,

or another Fran type
of storm can do,

given the growth in
our infrastructure

and a really large
segment of our population

that's never been in a
category 3, 4 or 5 hurricane.

- It is setting the stage.

We affectionately refer
to it as hurricane bait.

That we are literally
baiting the line

for there to be something pretty
dangerous on the other end.

- We've built back better, more,

and more people want
to come to the coast.

It's fun to live here
when we don't have storms.

But when we have
that, the challenge is

to get the people to
understand and prepare for it.

- [Camera Operator] Glad to
see you're in a happy mood.

- I'm worried about-
- You might as well smile.

- [Man] that tree, that
oak tree is leaning hard.

- [Camera Operator] Oh do you?

- Yeah I need to save
it somehow, I don't
know what to do.

- [Camera Operator] I'll
help you pull it back up.

- Was it right that I stayed?

I don't know.

I did stay.

- [Camera Operator] Old
Bert's Surf Shop report.

- Bert's Surf Shop is deep.

- [Camera Operator]
Like head high?

- (mumbles) I'll tell
you 95% of my merchandise

is totally ruined.

It's unbelievable.

- I just hope it
doesn't happen again.

I'm still in the same house.

- Generally people
get too comfortable.

They see other hurricanes on TV

and they say well that
just can't happen here.

And they're just
generally unprepared.

- So many people
opted to stay home,

and now I think the
learning lesson there was

when you hear evacuate,
you need to evacuate.

- The good thing is we
know they're coming,

and we can know they're
gonna hit us or not,

with plenty of time in advance.

So we can get ready for them.

- So when you go
back to the 1800s,

look at all the
hurricane activity,

our average is 16, 17 years

on getting a monster
storm like that come back.

And here it's been 20 years.

So with respect to
statistics, we're far overdue

for another major hurricane.

- Unfortunately we lost
life during that storm.

And so I think it was a lesson
learned for a lot of people

that you can rebuild homes,
you can buy a new car,

but you can't replace
a life that is lost.

- I miss the old pier and
lot of folks are still around

that miss the old pier
and the way it was.

But you create new
memories with the new pier.

If something happens
it's replaceable.

That's the key to that.

You take care of your folks,

and take care of your family,

and make sure nobody's hurt.

And then you just go from there.

You do what you gotta do.

(dramatic
music)

♪

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