
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, August 30, 1993                   TAG: 9308300156
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                                LENGTH: Medium

VIRGINIA'S COAST GETS WARNING

As Hurricane Emily traveled up the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday, coastal Virginia residents were talking about the storm, and some started to prepare for its arrival.

"I don't think people are quite worried about it yet," said Ben Orciga, a cashier at the beachside Sandbridge Market. "I'm very sure they will when they know more" in a couple of days.

"What we're telling people now is everybody from Virginia southward to Georgia should monitor the progress of Hurricane Emily," said Max Mayfield of the National Hurricane Center in Florida.

The hurricane center said there was a 14 percent chance that Emily's center would travel within 65 miles of Virginia Beach by Wednesday.

"It's definitely something to watch and be concerned about," said David Lipson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Richmond.

Even if the hurricane's center misses Virginia, high winds can cause heavy damage, Lipson said.

The weather service predicted tides Tuesday and Wednesday to be 3 feet above mean low water levels in the Hampton Roads harbor. The weather service cautioned there was a potential for "a significant storm surge. The resulting storm tide could be severe or possibly extreme."

Customers at HQ Warehouse Store in Virginia Beach began preparing Saturday night for the hurricane, said Bobbi Jo Frye, a customer service representative.

"They're mainly buying plywood for their windows. People are buying all kinds of lumber" in anticipation of the storm, she said. "They bought us out of half-inch plywood."

People usually wait until the last minute to buy extra water, batteries, candles and canned meats, said Beth Brooks, office assistant at Food Lion.

"We've had a lot of people talking about it but people haven't come in to stock up," said Brooks. "Some people will wait for the last minute, probably Tuesday.

"They always procrastinate. When it's going to snow, they're in here early. But hurricanes - they usually wait for the last minute. They're optimistic that it won't hit us until they watch the news and see the thing coming our way and go, `Oh my God.' "

by CNB