Josephine draws near Web-posted Oct. 7, 1996 at 12:30 a.m.
	ST. MARKS, Fla. (AP) - Boat owners rushed to secure their vessels as Tropical Storm Josephine swirled over the Gulf of Mexico, aiming to hit Florida's western coast at high tide Monday night with close to hurricane-force winds.    Josephine's 70-mph winds were most likely to come ashore near this remote fishing village about 30 miles south of Tallahassee, weaken as it cuts across southeastern Georgia and stay inland as it sends rain up the Atlantic Coast.

Hortense punishes Puerto Rico, killing at least eight Web-posted Sept. 11, 1996 at 1 a.m.

PONCE, Puerto Rico - Islanders boarded up windows and lined up to buy water, then rushed to the beaches Monday to watch the sea, churned by the outer edge of a strengthening Hurricane Hortense. Photo:John McConnico/AP

Hurricane Hortense threatens Puerto Rico Web-posted Sept. 10, 1996 at 12:30 a.m.

PONCE, Puerto Rico - Islanders boarded up windows and lined up to buy water, then rushed to the beaches Monday to watch the sea, churned by the outer edge of a strengthening Hurricane Hortense. Photo:John McConnico/AP

Slow hurricane season Sept. 7th at 10:45 p.m. Bertha and Fran crashed the 1996 summer beach party. Their older siblings, Hugo, Andrew and Opal, were even ruder a few years back. Hurricane activity must really be picking up as the century draws to a close, right? Wrong. The 1990s are on pace to be the slowest decade of the century for hurricanes that actually strike U.S. soil.

Fran slide show Web-posted Sept. 6, 1996 at 8:45 pm Boats, houses, cars, churches -- Hurricane Fran proved to be an equal opportunity destroyer when it stuck land near Wilmington, N.C. Thrusday night. On Friday, Augusta Chronicle photographer Bob Rives recorded the damage. Digital photography by Bob Rives/Staff

Fran at-a-glance Web-posted Sept. 6, 1996 at 12 pm WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) - Fran's toll is now measured by a reported 11 deaths and widespread structural and property damage. Carolina Power & Light says 670,000 customers were without power. Virginia power says 170,000 customers were dark.

Aftermath of Fran Updated Sept. 6, 1996 at 8:45 pm WILMINGTON, N.C. - Bob Church had just finished clearing the remnants from Hurricane Bertha's landfall in July. He even had a rented bulldozer nearby. ``Now we're starting all over again,'' he said Friday, surveying the much broader damage from Hurricane Fran's visit to the North Carolina coast. ``I stayed through it, but never again. Never.'' Digital Photo by Bob Rives/Staff

Fran blow evacuees - and their money - into Georgia Web-posted Sept. 6, 1996 at 8:40 pm STATESBORO, Ga. - The Olympics may have been a bust in many rural counties in southeast Georgia. But not Fran. Hotels, restaurants and visitors' centers in Statesboro, Hinesville and other towns reported full houses this week when residents fled the coast to avoid the storm that never materialized locally.

Augusta helps in Fran recovery Web-posted Sept. 6, 1996 at 8:45 pm Hurricane Fran left a mess behind when it tore through the Eastern Seaboard, and Augusta residents are helping to clean it up - even though it is in someone else's back yard. Photo by Jim Blaylock/Staff

Fran downgraded to tropical storm Web-posted Sept. 7, 1996 at 12 pm WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) - A weakened Hurricane Fran turned into a tropical storm today after submerging beach towns, ripping steeples off churches and snapping trees like sticks in its terrorizing path through the Carolinas. At least 12 people were killed.

Civil War Church Blown Down By Hurricane Fran Web-posted Sept. 7, 1996 at 12 pm WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) - Since it was built during the Civil War, the tallest steeple at First Baptist Church had stood straight through powerful storms - until the fury of Hurricane Fran.

Hurricane moves inland, second death blamed on storm Web-posted Sept. 6, 1996 at 1 am WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) - Gusts as high as 120 mph were reported as Fran first hit land. One motorist, a 66-year-old woman from Conway, S.C., was killed when her car hit standing water and flew down an embankment into a tree. A second woman was killed in Onslow County, just northeast of Wilmington, when a tree fell on her trailer, trapping her inside during the height of the storm.

Fran Batters Carolinas with 115 Mph Winds Updated Sept. 5, 1996 at 10 pm MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) - Hurricane Fran began battering the Carolinas with 115 mph winds and even higher gusts Thursday, bending trees and blowing rain sideways as thousands of people scrambled for storm supplies or the road out of town. Digital Photo by Bob Rives/Staff

Guard moves out; horses move in Web-posted Sept. 5, 1996 at 9:45 pm AIKEN - Bulldozers moved out and horse trailers moved into Aiken County Thursday as the state prepared for Hurricane Fran. Photo by Ron Cockerille/Staff

Residents prepare to be saviours, not survivors Web-posted Sept. 5, 1996 at 10 pm Frances Richbourg remembers pieces of tin roof ripping off a mobile home and coming right for her as she ran from her crippled fire department station wagon during Hurricane Hugo. Now seven years later, Ms. Richbourg and other residents of Clarendon County, S.C. are preparing to be saviours rather than survivors as Hurricane Fran bears down on the South Carolina coast.

Memories of Hugo as Fran bears down Updated Sept. 5, 1996 at 9:15 pm MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - Like an unwelcome ghost from a not-so-distant past, Hurricane Fran pounded a deserted Grand Strand coastline Thursday and stirred painful memories of a similar storm just seven years ago. Digital Photo by Bob Rives/Staff

Southeast braces for Fran Web-posted Sept. 5, 1996 at 3 pm MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) - Rain fell in horizontal sheets today as thousands of Carolina residents and tourists fled inland, memories of Hugo's devastation still fresh, as Hurricane Fran aimed for a late night landfall.

Evacuees fill Augusta-area hotels and shelters Web-posted Sept. 4, 1996 Evacuees from coastal Georgia and South Carolina began filling Augusta-area hotels and shelters Wednesday, hoping to escape the wrath of Hurricane Fran. Photo by Ron Cockerille/Staff

Memories of Hugo in S.C. Web-posted Sept. 4, 1996 at 11 pm CHARLESTON, S.C. - South Carolina's governor called out the National Guard and ordered a half-million people evacuated from the coast Wednesday as Hurricane Fran swirled toward land with 115 mph winds on a path alarmingly similar to Hugo's seven years ago.

S.C. Governor Orders Mandatory Evacuations Web-posted Sept. 4, 1996 at 4 pm BEAUFORT, S.C. (AP) - South Carolina's governor today ordered evacuations of the state's entire coast as Hurricane Fran plowed toward the mainland with 115 mph wind.

South Carolina Seeks Voluntary Evacuations Web-posted Sept. 4, 1996 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.

Area hotels taking reservations as Fran comes closer Web-posted Sept. 3, 1996 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.

Edouard slips past New England Web-posted Sept. 2, 1996 CHATHAM, Mass. (AP) - Hurricane Edouard shied away from land at the last minute Monday, giving only a glancing blow to Cape Cod and island communities that had been emptied of thousands of holiday weekend tourists. Photo by Peter Lennihan/AP

Hurricane Fran bearing down on Southeast Web-posted Sept. 2, 1996 MIAMI - Hurricane Fran took aim at the Bahamas and the southeastern United States on Monday and was expected to gain strength as it crossed over warmer waters near Florida. The minimal hurricane was still three days away from land, but forecasters urged residents of the Southeast take precautions and begin making hurricane plans.