THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 6, 1995 TAG: 9510060494
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAVE ADDIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NAVARRE, FLA. LENGTH: Long : 193 lines
Owners of beachside homes in this small Gulf coast resort town ventured out from their land-side havens Thursday to find if Hurricane Opal had left them very lucky - or homeless.
For many, the answer seemed as random as a roll of the dice: Relatively untouched homes sat just feet from houses that had been shattered.
Navarre, and nearby Fort Walton Beach, took the full force of the storm's 125 mph winds, and in many places, that was readily apparent. Strangely, though, just a mile or two in either direction, or just north of the beach, one could travel for blocks at a time and be unaware that the neighborhood had suffered more than a shower.
``There have been times in my life,'' said Carolyn Hilton, from the back yard of the ruins of her home, ``that I've nearly come to the point of just buying an RV and just driving around.
``And that's what I'm thinking right now, we should just get an RV and ride around.''
Hilton and her family sat out the storm in Alabama. On their ride back to the Florida Panhandle, she said, they were full of hope.
``We were hearing on the radio that a lot of people thought this one wasn't as bad as Erin,'' she said, referring to the hurricane that thundered through just two months and one day earlier. ``And we got through Erin with very little damage.
``But we got here, and look, just look at what we found.''
The Hiltons' two-story beachfront duplex, and an identical building next door, had been splayed open across the ground floor by flood tides and debris, and then destroyed as the surf rumbled through their living rooms.
``Look there,'' Hilton said, pointing to the wooden wreckage piled at the front of the house. ``You can see that pilings from a pier is what shoved through those windows. We didn't even have a pier. Lord only knows where that came from.''
Her 11-year-old granddaughter, Crystal, said she'd figured that if the storm hit, the damage would be greatest upstairs.
``So I moved all my stuff downstairs,'' she said, ``and now it's all gone.''
What did Crystal lose?
``Well, I lost all my stuffed animals, and all my clothes.'' Her 14 pet hamsters were safe, she said. They'd been evacuated to Alabama.
``We'll just start over,'' Carolyn Hilton said. ``This has to be torn down. This was our dream. My parents, they left me some money, we put it into this place, a place on the water. It was our dream.'' The duplex was just 3 years old.
A neighbor, Don Hansen, was taking pictures of the caved-in front of his home when his mother, Josephine, entered the living room, took one look, and collapsed in tears onto a soaking-wet sofa.
``Oh, my God, it's gone,'' she cried. ``Don, Don, it's just gone.''
She had entered the building from the street side, where, despite piles of debris and a 19-foot Bayliner outboard sitting broken on the driveway, her son's home had looked sound. But as she passed through the kitchen, she realized that the front of the home had been bashed in and flooded throughout.
Calming his mother, Hansen vowed to rebuild immediately. ``I'll build it again, I'll just build it better.''
The Hiltons and the Hansens live on a sound that is protected from the Gulf of Mexico by Santa Rosa Island, much like the Currituck Outer Banks or the Sandbridge region of Virginia Beach protect the mainland.
Santa Rosa Island, dense with expensive Gulf-front properties, was hit so severely that authorities would not allow property owners across the bridges Thursday to inspect their homes. Law enforcement officials said the owners might be held back as long as a week, until inspections and road repairs are carried out. That news led to testy encounters at police check points along the Gulf coast.
Looking across the sound, toward the island nearly a mile away, Hansen said that even from that distance he could tell the damage was bad.
``I've been looking at that view for two years now,'' he said, ``and I know it's different today. There are gaps. Whole buildings look like they're gone.''
Police who have done helicopter surveys said the surging Gulf waters had fully overwashed the island at some points.
Despite the violence of the winds, the damage along this strip of beach villages appeared to verify experts' warnings that storm surge, not wind, is the true peril of a hurricane. Just down the road from the Hiltons and the Hansens, a mobile-home park - a cliche of places not to be in a storm - showed little damage.
At Fort Walton Beach, huge pleasure boats were washed into the town. At one point, a 40-foot power cruiser blocked two lanes of Interstate 98 through the city.
Fort Walton Beach was without power. Most businesses there, and many across the Panhandle, were closed. The downtown business district was badly battered along the waterfront, but just a few blocks inland the damage was slight.
Long lines formed at places where ice was being sold from the back of tractor-trailers.
KEYWORDS: HURRICANE OPAL THIRTY-FIVE MILES TO THE WEST, IN PENSACOLA, THE
STORM'S ORIGINAL TARGET, POWER WAS OUT IN MORE THAN HALF THE CITY IN
THE MORNING, BUT WAS QUICKLY BEING RESTORED. THE CITY'S BEACH
DISTRICT AND MARINAS SUFFERED HEAVY DAMAGE, BUT BY SUNSET, MANY
AREAS OF THE CITY HAD A BUSINESS-AS-USUAL LOOK. RESTAURANTS WERE
OPEN, AND SOME SCHOOLS WERE SCHEDULING CLASSES FOR TODAY.
EMPHASIZING THE STRANGE RANDOMNESS OF THE STORM'S IMPACT, A GOLF
COURSE MIDWAY BETWEEN NAVARRE AND PENSACOLA HAD LAWN SPRINKLERS
RUNNING FULL FORCE AT LATE AFTERNOON - NOT 24 HOURS AFTER A CATEGORY
3 HURRICANE HAD CRASHED ASHORE.
NAVARRE, FLA. - OWNERS OF BEACHSIDE HOMES IN THIS SMALL GULF
COAST RESORT TOWN VENTURED OUT FROM THEIR LAND-SIDE HAVENS THURSDAY
TO FIND IF HURRICANE OPAL HAD LEFT THEM VERY LUCKY - OR HOMELESS.
FOR MANY, THE ANSWER SEEMED AS RANDOM AS A ROLL OF THE DICE:
RELATIVELY UNTOUCHED HOMES SAT JUST FEET FROM HOUSES THAT HAD BEEN
SHATTERED.
NAVARRE, AND NEARBY FORT WALTON BEACH, TOOK THE FULL FORCE OF THE
STORM'S 125 MPH WINDS, AND IN MANY PLACES, THAT WAS READILY
APPARENT. STRANGELY, THOUGH, JUST A MILE OR TWO IN EITHER DIRECTION,
OR JUST NORTH OF THE BEACH, ONE COULD TRAVEL FOR BLOCKS AT A TIME
AND BE UNAWARE THAT THE NEIGHBORHOOD HAD SUFFERED MORE THAN A
SHOWER.
``THERE HAVE BEEN TIMES IN MY LIFE,'' SAID CAROLYN HILTON, FROM
THE BACK YARD OF THE RUINS OF HER HOME, ``THAT I'VE NEARLY COME TO
THE POINT OF JUST BUYING AN RV AND JUST DRIVING AROUND.
``AND THAT'S WHAT I'M THINKING RIGHT NOW, WE SHOULD JUST GET AN
RV AND RIDE AROUND.''
HILTON AND HER FAMILY SAT OUT THE STORM IN ALABAMA. ON THEIR RIDE
BACK TO THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE, SHE SAID, THEY WERE FULL OF HOPE.
``WE WERE HEARING ON THE RADIO THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE THOUGHT THIS
ONE WASN'T AS BAD AS ERIN,'' SHE SAID, REFERRING TO THE HURRICANE
THAT THUNDERED THROUGH JUST TWO MONTHS AND ONE DAY EARLIER. ``AND WE
GOT THROUGH ERIN WITH VERY LITTLE DAMAGE.
``BUT WE GOT HERE, AND LOOK, JUST LOOK AT WHAT WE FOUND.''
THE HILTONS' TWO-STORY BEACHFRONT DUPLEX, AND AN IDENTICAL
BUILDING NEXT DOOR, HAD BEEN SPLAYED OPEN ACROSS THE GROUND FLOOR BY
FLOOD TIDES AND DEBRIS, AND THEN DESTROYED AS THE SURF RUMBLED
THROUGH THEIR LIVING ROOMS.
``LOOK THERE,'' HILTON SAID, POINTING TO THE WOODEN WRECKAGE
PILED AT THE FRONT OF THE HOUSE. ``YOU CAN SEE THAT PILINGS FROM A
PIER IS WHAT SHOVED THROUGH THOSE WINDOWS. WE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE A
PIER. LORD ONLY KNOWS WHERE THAT CAME FROM.''
HER 11-YEAR-OLD GRANDDAUGHTER, CRYSTAL, SAID SHE'D FIGURED THAT
IF THE STORM HIT, THE DAMAGE WOULD BE GREATEST UPSTAIRS.
``SO I MOVED ALL MY STUFF DOWNSTAIRS,'' SHE SAID, ``AND NOW IT'S
ALL GONE.''
WHAT DID CRYSTAL LOSE?
``WELL, I LOST ALL MY STUFFED ANIMALS, AND ALL MY CLOTHES.'' HER
14 PET HAMSTERS WERE SAFE, SHE SAID. THEY'D BEEN EVACUATED TO
ALABAMA.
``WE'LL JUST START OVER,'' CAROLYN HILTON SAID. ``THIS HAS TO BE
TORN DOWN. THIS WAS OUR DREAM. MY PARENTS, THEY LEFT ME SOME MONEY,
WE PUT IT INTO THIS PLACE, A PLACE ON THE WATER. IT WAS OUR DREAM.''
THE DUPLEX WAS JUST 3 YEARS OLD.
A NEIGHBOR, DON HANSEN, WAS TAKING PICTURES OF THE CAVED-IN
FRONT OF HIS HOME WHEN HIS MOTHER, JOSEPHINE, ENTERED THE LIVING
ROOM, TOOK ONE LOOK, AND COLLAPSED IN TEARS ONTO A SOAKING-WET
SOFA.
``OH, MY GOD, IT'S GONE,'' SHE CRIED. ``DON, DON, IT'S JUST
GONE.''
SHE HAD ENTERED THE BUILDING FROM THE STREET SIDE, WHERE, DESPITE
PILES OF DEBRIS AND A 19-FOOT BAYLINER OUTBOARD SITTING BROKEN ON
THE DRIVEWAY, HER SON'S HOME HAD LOOKED SOUND. BUT AS SHE PASSED
THROUGH THE KITCHEN, SHE REALIZED THAT THE FRONT OF THE HOME HAD
BEEN BASHED IN AND FLOODED THROUGHOUT.
CALMING HIS MOTHER, HANSEN VOWED TO REBUILD IMMEDIATELY. ``I'LL
BUILD IT AGAIN, I'LL JUST BUILD IT BETTER.''
THE HILTONS AND THE HANSENS LIVE ON A SOUND THAT IS PROTECTED
FROM THE GULF OF MEXICO BY SANTA ROSA ISLAND, MUCH LIKE THE
CURRITUCK OUTER BANKS OR THE SANDBRIDGE REGION OF VIRGINIA BEACH
PROTECT THE MAINLAND.
SANTA ROSA ISLAND, DENSE WITH EXPENSIVE GULF-FRONT PROPERTIES,
WAS HIT SO SEVERELY THAT AUTHORITIES WOULD NOT ALLOW PROPERTY OWNERS
ACROSS THE BRIDGES THURSDAY TO INSPECT THEIR HOMES. LAW ENFORCEMENT
OFFICIALS SAID THE OWNERS MIGHT BE HELD BACK AS LONG AS A WEEK,
UNTIL INSPECTIONS AND ROAD REPAIRS ARE CARRIED OUT. THAT NEWS LED TO
TESTY ENCOUNTERS AT POLICE CHECK POINTS ALONG THE GULF COAST.
LOOKING ACROSS THE SOUND, TOWARD THE ISLAND NEARLY A MILE AWAY,
HANSEN SAID THAT EVEN FROM THAT DISTANCE HE COULD TELL THE DAMAGE
WAS BAD.
``I'VE BEEN LOOKING AT THAT VIEW FOR TWO YEARS NOW,'' HE SAID,
``AND I KNOW IT'S DIFFERENT TODAY. THERE ARE GAPS. WHOLE BUILDINGS
LOOK LIKE THEY'RE GONE.''
POLICE WHO HAVE DONE HELICOPTER SURVEYS SAID THE SURGING GULF
WATERS HAD FULLY OVERWASHED THE ISLAND AT SOME POINTS.
DESPITE THE VIOLENCE OF THE WINDS, THE DAMAGE ALONG THIS STRIP OF
BEACH VILLAGES APPEARED TO VERIFY EXPERTS' WARNINGS THAT STORM
SURGE, NOT WIND, IS THE TRUE PERIL OF A HURRICANE. JUST DOWN THE
ROAD FROM THE HILTONS AND THE HANSENS, A MOBILE-HOME PARK - A CLICHE
OF PLACES NOT TO BE IN A STORM - SHOWED LITTLE DAMAGE.
AT FORT WALTON BEACH, HUGE PLEASURE BOATS WERE WASHED INTO THE
TOWN. AT ONE POINT, A 40-FOOT POWER CRUISER BLOCKED TWO LANES OF
INTERSTATE 98 THROUGH THE CITY.
FORT WALTON BEACH WAS WITHOUT POWER. MOST BUSINESSES THERE, AND
MANY ACROSS THE PANHANDLE, WERE CLOSED. THE DOWNTOWN BUSINESS
DISTRICT WAS BADLY BATTERED ALONG THE WATERFRONT, BUT JUST A FEW
BLOCKS INLAND THE DAMAGE WAS SLIGHT.
LONG LINES FORMED AT PLACES WHERE ICE WAS BEING SOLD FROM THE
BACK OF TRACTOR-TRAILERS. by CNB