The Town Talk from Alexandria, Louisiana • Page 3

The Town Talk, Alexandria-Pineville, La Thursday, August 27, 1992 A-3 Vo- turn All around the low-lying south-central part of the state, houses were ravaged, trailer homes were turned upside down, majestic oak trees in front of antebellum mansions were toppled and several gas leaks were reported. Dozens injured Dozens were injured and at least 322,000 lost electric power. Seven people from a sinking tugboat were plucked from a cauldron of Mississippi River waters; another seven were res cued from a 70-foot Vietnamese fishing boat that ran aground in the Gulf of Mexico. A dozen barges broke loose from an Exxon refinery and were corraled by the Coast Guard, but a search continued for a mobile offshore drilling rig, the Zapata Saratoga, that disappeared 110 miles south of New Orleans. The rig had been evacuated and its well plugged to prevent pollution.

The Coast Guard also was investigating an oil slick at the mouth of the Mississippi River and five other minor spills and leaks. The hurricane came ashore Pounds Continued from A-l mained critical priorities in ravaged neighborhoods south of Miami. Search teams continued to explore wreckage for bodies. One death was reported in Louisiana, a 63-year-old tornado victim from LaPlace found in rubble Wednesday. Another death was reported in the Bahamas, where three other people died when the storm hit Sunday.

That raised the overall toll to 20 dead. Preliminary estimates in Florida's Dade County alone put the damage at $15 billion to $20 billion, although it will likely take time for those figures to be verified. There were no comparable figures available for Louisiana. But as widespread as the damage appeared there, authorities noted that it could have been worse. The storm had spun itself out a bit and weakened before crossing the coastline.

And it spared the state's largest city, New Orleans. i in St Mary Parish early Wednesday, heading north up the Atchafalaya Basin and pounding cities and towns on all sides: Morgan City, where the mayor requested National Guard troops and urged residents to stay away for several days; Berwick, where water rose knee-deep; Franklin, where a wind gauge registered 140 mph, then blew away; Jeanerette, where state police reported looting; Lafayette, where a suburban building was pushed onto railroad tracks; Baton Rouge, where a huge rooftop air conditioner was thrown 30 feet off the state insurance building. At a neighborhood in New Iberia, deep in the swampy Ca-jun country, every yard looked like a lake. Tile roofs and brick walls looked as though they'd been peeled away from homes by invisible hands. Uprooted trees and downed power lines littered the streets.

Carpet and Vinyl Floor Covering Co. was little more than a pile of rubble. Owner Altemus Sigue, 59, searched that rubble in a pelting rain and gusting wind, looking for a lost checkbook and lamenting the loss of a business he ran for 16 years. "I came back and I found a disaster," he said, raising his hands in the air in a gesture of desperation. "Where do you go from here? Look how devastating a hurricane can be.

It looks like a bomb hit it. It's a total loss." Nearby, the roof was peeled off as if by can-opener from an 80-unit motel occupied with evacuees from low-lying areas. There were no injuries, just terror. "It was a miracle we all got out," said Gail Schaubert, one of 13 people in one second-floor room. "We shouted.

We prayed. We stood in a group. I knew the Lord would pull us through." Associated Press Elizabeth Chambers wails as she returns to Wednesday morning. The tornado damaged her home in Reserve, to find it destroyed several homes in this suburban community of by a tornado generated by Hurricane Andrew New Orleans. louisiana df yr Baton Rouge: ft Power was knocked out at the state Capitol and i offices were running on TEXAS 3 emergency generators.

i LanaonaiiBs Graham said that 63,000 homes were destroyed. "If there are three people per home, you are talking about 180,000 homeless," Graham said. Officials feared that food rotting in Florida's August heat, polluted water and sewage backups could lead to outbreaks of salmonella and hepatitis. More than 100 people were arrested for looting in harder-hit areas, with another 200 arrested for violating Dade County's dusk-to-dawn curfew. Early Tuesday, the National Guard in South Florida took back the Cutler Ridge Mall from looters.

"Before we got here, it was a picnic," said Sgt. Rick Bailey. "We can't 'arrest them. All we can do is stop them." In the town of Jeanerette, people were inside Jeanerette High School when the roof started to blow off, according to Lionel Oubre, spokesman for Iberia Parish emergency management. Three people suffered non-fatal heart attacks as evacuees crowded into hallways and fire trucks were parked next to the building in an attempt to break the wind a kind of circling of the wagons, he said.

The storm also caused some damage in Mississippi, where at least one person was injured by one of the tornadoes that often accompany hurricanes. In Florida, officials warned that it could be weeks before water and power are completely restored. Fifteen people were reported dead, and the toll was expected to rise. Following a meeting with county officials, U.S. Sen.

Bob I Franklin: Terrebonne Parish I i i nccpc tn rann fc Sfiufiral hundred homes lil farmers were severe. It were inundated. if I. rS2. hurricane 3 days after Andrew Thousands are homeless; food delivery poor worn -t -h 3 -V MISSISSIPPI LaPlace: A tornado spun off by storm ripped through this suburb of New Orleans.

The only storm-related death in the state confirmed by late morning. Grand Isle: Parts of the 7-mile-long barrier island were under water and power is out 28 AP workers make their way through miles of bedroom communities leveled on Monday morning, when Andrew hit Florida. Workers using hydraulic equipment and chain saws searched mobile-home parks. "They're going to enter the places where there's a higher chance that people might still be alive," said Jose Herrera, spokesman for the fire department. "We hope we don't find anybody, but chances are that we will." 63,000 homes destroyed After meeting with Dade County officials, U.S.

Sen. Bob Graham said 63,000 homes were destroyed. "If there are three people per home, you are talking about 180,000 homeless," he said. Damage to the region was estimated at $15 billion to $20 billion, Kate Hale, Dade County emergency management director, said. If that stands, Andrew would be the costliest natural disaster in U.S.

history. "We're going to move now from being in an adrenaline period of high energy to the second phase, which is the realization that this is going to be a long sustained recovery period," Graham said. Chiles announced that next Tuesday's state primary election would be held, despite calls by several candidates to postpone it. About 39,000 people remained in shelters Wednesday, the Red Cross said. Agencies advertised short-term apartment rentals.

The Red Cross served 280,000 meals on Wednesday alone at six shelters, said spokesman Bob Howard. Many residents of South Florida struggled to find drinkable water and food that hadn't spoiled in the heat. Officials feared that food rotting in Florida's August heat, polluted water and sewage backups could lead to out New Orleans, by contrast, sounded an all-clear by noon and Mayor Sidney Barthelemy noted that tourism, the city's top industry, could resume today. Winds decreased By noon Wednesday, winds decreased to 65 mph, but the storm didn't say goodbye gently. The National Weather Service said as much as 10 inches of rain fell on some areas.

Tens of thousands of people rode out the storm in shelters and boarded-up homes, as eight parishes were declared federal disaster areas. Some of the shelters didn't escape the onslaught either. A high school in Patterson, 60 miles west of New Orleans, lost its roof to the wind, said Sheriff Huey Bourgeois of St. Mary Parish. About 120 people had taken refuge inside, but no one was hurt, he said.

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"That's what we are trying to prevent." Life after Hurricane Andrew was particularly difficult for those who have a rough time in the best of times. "Hundreds of farmworkers in shelters are being released, but we have nowhere for them to go," said Susan Reyna, deputy director of Centro Campe-sino, an assistance agency for migrant farmworkers. "If you gave me money, I don't have anywhere to spend it. We need food and water." Ms. Reyna said emergency services did little to help the migrants most of whom were in remote inland areas prepare as the storm bore down.

Tales of profiteering began to surface Wednesday. One northeast Dade County man wanted his driveway cleared of oak trees. The first contractor told him it couldn't be done for less than $3,500. A second offered to do the job for $750. $10 million in aid President Bush said he was freeing $10 million in federal funds to create 5,000 short-term jobs for the clean-up in Florida.

And $57 million was set aside as "seed money" for relief in Florida, said Grant C. Peterson, associate director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He said $77 million has been allocated to begin disaster relief in Louisiana. FEMA opened an office to direct relief efforts. The Salvation Army sent 13 mobile canteens from Georgia and the Carolinas, and Red Cross trucks moved in.

About 60 paramedics and firefighters from Florida and other states had arrived by Wednesday. Two field hospitals were opened. Jefferson Parish Sheriff Har ry Lee was there, too, Valence said, in his capacity as a general of the Louisiana National Guard. The storm, expected at one time to hit Grand Isle directly, skirted it Tuesday. Still and all, a tornado touched down, three-quarters of the island was under three feet of water, and it was pummeled with 85-mph winds and an 8-foot storm surge from the Gulf of Mexico.

Most of the damage to the island was on the beach side, Valence said. By Anne Fitzhenry Associated Press MIAMI Three days after Hurricane Andrew cut its deep gash across southern Florida, an estimated 180,000 people were reported homeless, some cooking outdoors on wood fires, their food rotting and water scarce. Gov. Lawton Chiles visited hard-hit Homestead and Florida City by helicopter again Wednesday. Florida City, where the 8,000 residents didn't have much to start with, was virtually leveled.

"The shelters are too far away, and people don't want to leave whatever belongings they've got left," Florida City Mayor Otis Wallace said. "These people are camping out without the tents." Chiles said but much of the food was beginning to spoil. "Right now, a truckload of food gets there, 200 people show up, 50 people get food and 150 people are angry," Chiles said. "We've got to find a way to solve He said authorities needed to find storage places and to improve distribution. Nearly 1.5 million people had no electricity Wednesday, and officials warned that it could be weeks before everyone gets water and power back.

Killed 15 Hurricane Andrew has killed at least 15 people in Florida, four in the Bahamas, and one in Louisiana, where the season's first hurricane and the nation's costliest began to dissipate by midday Wednesday. A dusk-to-dawn curfew remained in effect, and National Guard troops patrolled against looting. Metro-Dade police said four people were arrested for looting, along with 200 arrests for curfew violations and other infractions. The death toll in Florida was expected to rise, as rescue Grand Isle GRAND ISLE (AP) Hurricane Andrew chewed away a 200-foot chunk of the only highway into Grand Isle and sliced off part of a levee, but didn't touch most of the island's raised houses, Mayor Andy Valence said Wednesday. "I've ordered the people of Grand Isle not to attempt to return today," he said.

"If people got on the road they would never reach Grand Isle because they would fall into that hole." The island was without power or water, Valence said. Crews sent to clear debris from Louisiana Highway 1 Sport Shirts Outerwear Rugbys Knit Shirts Pants Belts Hats Socks Underwear Shoes 50 75 Off Polo Ralph Lauren Final Summer Clearance Knit Shirts Stripes and Solids Sport Shirts Seersucker, Chambray, Madras and More Dress Shirts Solids and Stripes 33Vs 75 Off homes survive; road out found the break in the marshlands north of Grand Isle, Valence said. Valence was among 20 people bunking at Town Hall. "It is a former U.S. Coast Guard station, and therefore built to withstand hurricane weathers," he said.

An emergency generator provided power. Nearly all of Grand Isle's residents obeyed his evacuation order Monday. A few elderly residents refused to leave, and were brought to stay at Town Hall with civil defense workers, firefighters, police and emergency medical Jf Outfitters MacArthur Open 10 'til 6 Dally.