Hurricane Rips Into Florida as 100,000 Flee

Hurricane Kate, the first November hurricane to hit the U. S. mainland in 50 years, slammed into the Florida Panhandle late Thursday afternoon, whipping furious tides across coastal highways and snapping trees with 100-m.p.h. winds.

More than 100,000 people fled coastal communities. Tornadoes touched down here and in neighboring Calhoun County, and forecasters said Kate brought 5 to 10 inches of rain and tides 8 to 12 feet above normal.

Still, the storm’s tardy arrival may have been a saving grace. Cooler waters in the northern Gulf of Mexico sapped Kate of some of its strength, slowing its fast pace as it moved toward this beachfront community speckled with condominiums and luxury hotels.

The eye of the storm passed over Mexico Beach, 25 miles east of here, and extended as far south as Port St. Joe, another 25 miles down the coast.

The city of St. Marks, 125 miles east of Panama City, reportedly suffered severe damage.

“The water is waist deep downtown,” said Wakulla County Commissioner Murray McLaughlin.

“There’s a lot of damage all along the coast. But we have so many trees down we can’t even get in to take a look. The roads are blocked.”

At least 12 deaths were attributed to the storm’s earlier encounter with Cuba and the Florida Keys. Ten deaths were reported in Cuba, and on Thursday the Coast Guard recovered the bodies of two people who drowned off Key West the day before when their fishing boat capsized in high seas in Kate’s wake. A third person was killed Thursday when he was pinned beneath a tree in Jackson County.

Accurate damage estimates will take several days. Most people waited out the storm in their homes or in public shelters.

‘Would Scare the Devil’

“This damn thing would scare the devil himself,” Apalachicola resident Gerald Ward yelled Thursday afternoon as the hurricane howled toward the panhandle’s tourist havens and fishing villages.

Annie Laurie Rivers, the wife of Apalachicola’s Civil Defense director, reported that “phone booths are flying around like balsa wood. We have already lost the water tower.”

The churning winds did only minor damage to Panama City. The roof was blown off the media center at Northside Elementary School here. Power was out in many parts of the city. Trees and branches clogged streets in most residential areas. Many store windows had been shattered. Signs, especially in the eastern part of the city, were down.

Winds of 85 m.p.h. were clocked in Apalachicola as Kate’s eye passed, said forecaster Richard Charnick. The storm’s center then moved to the northeast and slowly weakened as it moved into Georgia.

Tops of Homes Blow Off

At Port St. Joe, a police spokeswoman said: “Windows are breaking and water is covering the roads and the tops are blowing off homes. We have a lot of damage in our business district,” she said.

Evacuation of eight counties in the western panhandle had begun Tuesday night. It was the fourth time in the last three months that hurricanes had chased residents to shelters. Kate, however, was the first storm to follow up on its threats to Florida.

Nearly 200 people took shelter at the Downtown First Baptist Church in Panama City. Members slept in the chapel, non-members in the recreation room.

“We’ve got chicken soup and peaches and cookies and spiced luncheon meats for sandwiches--and no complaints from anyone,” said Hazel Littlejohn, who was in charge.

‘Is This the Hurricane?’

As the hurricane began to howl, people began to eye the windows warily.

“Is this the hurricane?” 4-year-old Nancy Matthewman asked her mom.

“Yes, darlin’.”

“Can we go outside and play in it?”

“No, darlin’.”

Thomas Grice, 43, had left his 55-foot shrimp boat in a cove. He roped it off four ways.

“It’ll beat around a lot, and if it goes down, it goes into 28-30 feet of water and I can pump her out,” he said. “If I had left it in the gulf, it might have ended up floating into the open sea.”