The Atlanta Constitution from Atlanta, Georgia • 11

WED SEPTEMBER 20, 1 969 Pc Atlanta Journal AND COWSWIVTIOW A-1 1 HUGO: WAITING FOR THE STORM U.S. Coastal Residents Stock Up to Face Hurricane ble structures. In Florida, the American Ked Cross ordered food and made last- minute preparations to open up to. 58 shelters in Miami and 23 in ForvV Lauderdale. Several radio stntioi in Central Florida planned to acti vate storm tracking hotlines to keep residents up to date Officials said it would take at least 20 hours to evacuate coastal areas.

Mr. Gadomski said the last major storm to strike the area was Hurricane Donna in 1960, which danced along the East Coast from Florida to New England, killing 148. people in the United States and thes Caribbean. Since then, he said, "in many places development has omirted in ol a way that's largely oblivious to the potential for a really severe hurrH cane." When Hurricane Donna hit; most of the islands and coastal ar- 1 eas along the East Coast wen sparsely populated with a few modest summer houses usually bulll well back from the beach. Now the coast from northern Florida to North Carolina is lined with report communities that have never experienced a major storm.

The New York Times. Knight-Ridder News Service and The Associated Press contributed to this uii cle. rather than high winds, which might be held down by the presence of Tropical Storm Iris. The smaller storm, which was east of the northern Leeward Islands on Tuesday, "is remarkably close to Hugo," he said, and "these two tropical cyclones in close proximity are no doubt affecting each other's circulation." Iris was reported 700 miles behind Hugo on Tuesoay and moving on a track parallel to and just south of that of the hurricane. Hurricanes or tropical storms that are relatively close to each other can become weaker as they compete for two sources of strength: the warm, moist air over the tropical ocean and the spiraling bands of showers that circulate moisture toward a storm's center.

Forecasters predicted that the storm would veer west today or Thursday, and most of the projected paths had the storm coming ashore later in the week somewhere between Cape Canaveral, and Cape Hatteras, N.C. "We've just bten inundated with calls about preparedness," said Dan Summers, who coordinates emergency operations in New Hanover County, N.C. Emergency officials up and down the coast began stocking schools and evacuation centers with food, notifying residents of evacuation plans and shoring up vulnera From Page Al they can go for a safe anchorage," Mrs. Riley said. "Some of the faster power boats are running down to Florida and going just as far as they can up the St.

Johns River." Mrs. Riley said she and her husband, Barney, plan to take their 34-foot sailboat, "Friday Night," up a creek and secure the craft with multiple anchors if the hurricane heads toward Georgia. Like most boat owners, the Ril-eys said they plan to secure their boat as best they can, then head for higher ground inland. But Willie Williams, dock master at Gisco Seafood on St. Simons Island, said the captains of about 20 shrimp boats who tie up at Gisco planned to stay on their vessels at the dock, even if the hurricane strikes.

"It's the best way to look out for your boat," Mr. Williams said. Homeowners along the coast rushed to grocery and hardware stores Tuesday for batteries, candles and non-perishible food. Bill Strother, owner of a St Simons hardware store, said plywood sales were especially brisk. "We've sold 100 sheets today, just for people to board up their windows," Mr.

Strother said. "The price has already gone up today by about $2 a sheet It's the old supply and demand equation, and people down in the Caribbean are buying it all up." In Chatham County, Art King, civil defense deputy director, said the county will call for voluntary evacuation if the area is put under a hurricane watch. "We've spent the day reviewing our plans," Mr. King said. "What we do next will all depend on what we hear from the National Hurricane Center." A variety of weather factors could determine Hugo's course.

But the most likely impact, they said, will come from the combination of a low-pressure system moving west across South Georgia and a broad high-pressure ridge, the "Bermuda High," to Hugo's north. The high-pressure system probably will block Hugo from spinning harmlessly out into the Atlantic, as Hurricane Gabrielle did last week, forecasters said, while the low-pressure system could lure Hugo westward. "What is truly difficult to assess is the character of the storm that comes ashore whether it is going to be a minimal hurricane or a strong one," said Frederick J. Ga-domski, a meteorologist at the Weather Communications Group at Pennsylvania State University, which calculates national weather patterns. He said "the story of how it affects the United States may be rain" WILLIAM BERRYStaff Hurricane Hugo tossed this boat ashore where it sat Tuesday at the Culebra island resort in Puerto Rico.

In the United States, some boat owners moved small vessels to inland waters as Hugo headed north. NASA Brace for Hugo; Shuttle's Takeoff in Doubt By Mike Williams Staff Writer ORLANDO, Fla. As Hurricane Hugo churned closer to the U.S. mainland Tuesday, NASA engineers postponed one rocket launch and scrambled to button up the space shuttle Atlantis, which is poised atop its launch pad awaiting an Oct. 12 liftoff.

Flight managers will decide today whether to roll the $2 billion orbiter back to the safety of its hangar, a spokeswoman said. Rolling the giant ship back to its hangar would take eight hours. A rollback probably would not delay the Oct. 12 launch unless the storm continues to threaten the coast for several days, Ms. Malone said.

Atlantis has five contingency days built into its launch schedule. Atlantis is scheduled to carry aloft Galileo, a plutonium-powered, $1 billion probe to Jupiter. The probe is already loaded aboard the shuttle and will remain inside the closed cargo bay doors whether ihe ship is moved indoors or kept on the launch pad, Ms. Malone said. Meanwhile, NASA officials have delayed until at least Sunday the launch of an Atlas Centaur rocket scheduled for a Friday liftoff.

The 137-foot rocket is to carry a Navy communications satellite into orbit. The satellite may be moved indoors, but the rocket will remain on the pad, officials said. 1 Pentagon Says Facilities Took Beating From Hugo The Associated Press WASHINGTON The Pentagon said Tuesday that some of its facilities had sustained "very heavy damage" from Hurricane Hugo and that it was evacuating about 600 U.S. workers and dependents from a submarine center in the Bahamas as a precaution. "Virtually every structure received some damage, some of it severe," at the U.S.

Naval Station at Roosevelt Roads in Puerto Rico, Pentagon spokesman Fred Hoffman told reporters. No significant injuries were reported, he added. The Navy's airfield at the Roosevelt Roads station was closed overnight, but has since been reopened. Many of the runway's lights Were damaged, Mr. Hoffman said.

He said the military was evacuating about 600 people from the Naval Undersea Center on Andros Island in the Bahamas as a precautionary measure. The evacuees are a mix of U.S. government personnel, civilians and dependents of those who work at the center, which focuses on anti-submarine warfare, officials said. Fla. Firms Won't Sell Any More Flood Insurance The Associated Press Days before possible hurricane watches or warnings for the Miami area, some insurance agents already have issued a warning of their own: It's now too late to get flood insurance protection for Hugo.

"If someone comes in and wants to add flood insurance, there's a five-day waiting period," said James Berhardt, a State Farm agent. Agents for other companies said the hurricane was fast approaching the point beyond which they would issue no more increases in property insurance. Insurance firms were innundated with calls Tuesday from people wanting to buy flood insurance. Independent agent John Handeman of south Miami said once any hurricane crosses 15 degrees north latitude and 72 degrees west latitude, he won't sell homeowners increased coverage. Miami is at about 80 degrees west longitude.

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