Nicholls State University - La Pirogue Yearbook (Thibodaux, LA)

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ith the coming of a hurricane: nothing to do except to wait and to wait Hurricane Eloise increased in strength during the night and has been again upgraded from tropical storm to hurricane status. Hurricane warnings are in effect from Grand Isle, La. to Applachicola, Fla. At 9 a.m. CDT., the center ...... was 260 miles south of New Orleans. . . moving north at 14 miles per hour . . UP! teletype 9f22f 75 courtesy K VF G-F M. Eloise has not responded to a number of factors that favor strength- ening, and unless winds increase rap- idly, the system will move inland as a minimal tropical storm, Dr. Neil Frank, director of the National l-lurrl- cane Center told the wire services Sat- urday, September 20. What he was talking about was Hur- ricane Eloise, formed less than a week before in the Carribbean and already responsible for the deaths of at least 28 people, injury of 300, 5,000 driven from their homes in Puerto Rico and S10 million in property damage. The hurricane had passed over the mountains of Cuba and held winds of only 35 mph as it headed tovvard the Yucatan coast. But in the early morning Sunday hours then Tropical Storm Eloise proved two beliefs held by those who lived along the Louisiana coast: a hur- ricane never makes up its mind where it wants to go and any hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico is liable to hit Louisiana. The National Hurricane Center in Miami placed Eloise 485 miles south of Louisiana but still not having the strength to be called a hurricane. Nic- holls students attending classes for only three weeks felt no threat. The commuter who got into his car at 7 a.m. that Monday morning heard the broadcast which shaped what the Maintenance men prepare the cafeteria for Eloise, as students finish lunch. Don Westbrook on WWL, gives Eloise's position the night she turned toward the coast. l r I gk' --- . .. .Q -Q, -,H 1 f-- ', . N, I . tt N. . -.ag .. .. Q x 5 Q I tix N v,U....'.',. ,, Wi ,.,.........-u -.,. .ll. - -- 2 miqQS'i'i-RE g 1 x 4 X . xx V n Li ' . . .Q N , Li , T atv Q. 0 x , if ' 1 'E s 'La ' X s. , 'ml H X - 9 lg-'Q '- . ' Q ' l Xl 5 ., . gr ,Q I N J -Q' r i ' V. ' - t i l :. h Q ' ix 'A 1 3 1 X - Q I' if ., -Q . '3,, ' +L! In Q . I-tlm gx X if . . 5'-ll! A r g - .x , 5 W. . 'A l -, .msg A ,Q , . ' , vi in S it yi i , Q . s tk , vg 5 l ' a tv. 5 iff' ' e Wi' ' T , .-N A . EE s ,. If A t F A It r Af V ' 3 F F i K , s v r , . . w sie q k 5 v ui, . ' ll - N ' 1 - l , . l . P , . f l a N ,l ' f ' ft -by . M , 1 A 0, 'X I' icq s ,VQ ,f X., Y .v ' ' K X ' , 3 f .Q Ju, ' ' ' we 4 , t -5, T - 'N2 i-D' 'T- 'r 'J' ' ,. '. ww 1 18 HLITTIFBIWGEIOISE G . I ' 3' A .,

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9, ., v V Crochet i x x X .4- lv X V M-738. M, wawwf.-wi Q'9l YJ'H'T-,f - 531- 'L' t, WW --WT' - YQ- :NI A -- - f H , -: - f .. 1 I 419' Us 9? Paper plates and cups were needed by dorm students after a contract mistake closed the cafeteria over the Labor Day weekend, but left the dorms open. Students had to impro- vise for their meals. The second day of classes were canceled as Gov. Edwin Edwards made a campus visit for the groundbreaking of the new library. KVFG's Danny Blum got a few words with him before the ceremony. 'xf'K ,' Jn N Q 5-1 vf' r.. if ff f if rv ei' V PEIIHIIWQIOII The Hardest Weeks 1 7

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i Pll day would eventually turn to. In 12 hours Eloise had picked up winds of 90 mph and was only 280 miles south of New Orleans. A weakened tropical storm had moved 200 miles overnight and was predicted to strike Louisiana at the mouth ofthe Mississippi River. Activity by the maintenance statt. hurried meetings by the University Dis- aster Committee and idle rumors cre- ated the atmosphere on a day already marked by a gray shrouded sky and uneasy feeling of rain in the air. The Disaster Committee met at 11 a.mi to discuss the situation. Com- muter buses were ordered to bring stu- dents home early. l-ligh winds on the highway along Bayou Lafourche were og 'T' di -'T making driving dangerous, Dorms were boarded up and stu- dents moved into the halls and dou- bled up in some dorms Many floors or groups of residents prepared tor hur- ricane parties. Maintenance workers began board- ing up and taping windows, doors and glass, bringing extra mattresses into the Student Union and rigging up emergency power lights. Regular broadcasting at KVFG-FM, the campus radio station was can- celed and weather reports and inform- ation were broadcast as soon as they were on the UPI teletype, The Disaster Committee met again at 2 p.m. with Hurricane Eloise less than 200 miles from the Louisiana coast. Classes on Tuesday were can- celed. The National l-lurricane Center announced Eloise would turn at the mouth ofthe Mississippi and land along the Gulf Coast. Evacuation operations had already begun for lower Lafourche and Terre- bonne parishes. Students, faculty and Thibodaux City residents had two options: to leave for a safer area or stay until it was over. Hurricane Eloise turned at the mouth of the Mississippi River and made landfall on a stretch of the Flo- rida panhandle between Panama City and Ft. Walton Beach with 750 mph winds and tides eight feet above nor- mal. By noon there were only character- istics of a tropical storm, leaving heavy rains over Chattanooga, Tenn. Dam- age was estimated at 570 million. There was one fatality. Classes resumed at Nicholls Wed- nesday morning. Hurricane Eloise 10