Some of the flooding was reported as some of the worst in years. As the eye of Fran passed over the Cape Fear, with winds of 115 MPH. The winds weakened slightly as Fran moved inland and northward, but still lead devastation in its path. From 100 MPH winds, down to 90 MPH winds were ripping as far as 100 miles inland from the North Carolina coast and parts of southern Virginia. The hurricane was moving north at 16 MPH after making landfall at Cape Fear about 8:00 p.m. At Frying Pan Shoals, North Carolina, winds were measured at 124 MPH late in the evening.
Power outages, flooded streets, downed trees and flapping roofs were reported from south of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to North Topsail Beach North Carolina as hurricane Fran batters the region. The entire city of Wilmington was without power and lights. In North Topsail Beach police department's offices and town hall offices in a doublewide trailer were swept away by the category three hurricanes. The overall death toll was 37 including 24 in North Carolina. Damages to homes and business's in North Carolina were estimated at $2.3 billion dollars. Public property was estimated $1.1 billion dollars. Agricultural damage to crops, livestock, and buildings in North Carolina was over $700 million dollars. Wake County alone reported over $900 million dollars in damage to residential and commercial property. Finally, forestry timber losses for the state probably exceed $1 billion dollars. Looking as a whole at the damage to North Carolina it is estimated to be about $5 billion dollars. Fran is the third most costly hurricane in the US history.
Governor Jim Hunt declared a state of emergency for the state in all 100 counties. Governor predicted that the cost for agriculture and tourism would bi in the billions of dollars from this storm. Warnings, alerts, and evacuation are all part of the hurricane preparedness. With new technology growing everyday it is now easier to predict a hurricane much faster than it was in the earlier years.
