Workmen put up metal shutters at the Adam and Eve boutique at the Harbor Bay shopping center in Nassau, Bahamas as Hurricane Fran approached the island chain Tuesday Sept. 3, 1996. Hurricane Fran gained strength Tuesday with winds as high as 105 mph, as it churned towards the southeastern US. Photo by Craig Lennhan /AP

Web-posted September 3, 1996

  Bob Smith's Hurricane Tracker

By Michael Cass
Staff Writer

As the hurricane creeps closer, expect the hotel parking lots to start filling up.

While the National Weather Service was predicting Tuesday that Hurricane Fran will touch down Thursday night near Beaufort, S.C., Augusta-area hotels were busy taking reservations for the next few days.

``I think we'll be pretty busy if it does come through,'' said Jane Hamilton, manager of La Quinta Inn at Washington Road and Interstate 20, which had booked 32 rooms for families fleeing the Hilton Head, S.C., area. ``We'll be solid, I think.''

Joanne Wright, reservations manager at the nearby Holiday Inn West, said she booked 76 rooms for Thursday night, with about 30 percent of those going to Hilton Head residents.

Emergency planners were getting ready to take in a different kind of lodger: elderly and disabled evacuees from Chatham and Effingham counties on the Georgia coast. Pam Tucker, director of the Augusta-Richmond County Emergency Management Agency, said Hephzibah High School will be used as an emergency shelter if necessary.

The American Red Cross also was identifying shelters and asking volunteers to be available as the hurricane gets closer, said Bill Tomlinson, director of emergency services for the Augusta chapter.

Fran was 285 miles east of Nassau, the Bahamas, at 5 p.m. Tuesday, moving west-northwest at 13 mph, with 105 mph winds that were expected to strengthen by this afternoon , weather service meteorologist Tenia Morrison said.

Ms. Morrison said the movement of a low-pressure system currently in the southern Mississippi River Valley could determine how quickly Fran moves inland.

``It's still kind of wobbling out there (over the Atlantic Ocean),'' she said of the hurricane.

Ms. Tucker said Fran is not considered extremely dangerous to Augustans at this point, though it could bring heavy rains, winds, and possibly tornadoes and flooding.

``These things can spawn tornadoes,'' she said. ``But I don't expect the type of wind damage that causes power outages, which would really put us in a bad situation.''

However, Ms. Tucker did advise area residents to stock up on non-perishable foods and bottled water in case they lose power and water. Those who live in flood-prone areas should bring outdoor furniture inside and move valuables upstairs if possible.