|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
The headline on Tuesday’s newspaper was direct. PREPARE YOURSELF was stripped across the front page in extra bold type. Hurricane Floyd was aiming at Florida and a disaster was just off the coast. Twenty four hours later, the headline read IT MISSED. Before the storm turned, we prepared for Hurricane Floyd both personally and professionally. People bought plywood for their homes and we stockpiled film and batteries for the photographers. Floyd was stronger than Hurricane Andrew - the nightmare storm that still haunts residents of Florida - and its storm clouds spread so wide that it was bigger than the entire state. More than a million people evacuated the Atlantic coast line. Hurricanes, unlike almost any other natural disaster, allow for some advance planning. I started rearranging my assignment schedule Monday after I had shot a fashion piece at a dance club at Disney’s Boardwalk. The storm would be close to our shore by early Wednesday morning and I postponed all of my assignments for the week. Every photographer on staff ended up with an assignment. On Tuesday, I went up in a helicopter to photograph the last-minute exodus from the coast and the sight of empty highways elsewhere. Because of the seriousness of the storm, literally every business was closed and it was worth some time in the air to see the sight of an empty A1A in Cocoa Beach at mid-day. The helicopter aerials are usually the best assignment in hurricane coverage. You can get quickly to the scene of any major damage and the photos are almost guaranteed for the front page. Plus, the flying is easy because the weather after a hurricane clears is pretty as can be. But flying as the storm approaches is not as much fun. The head winds flying out to the coast made for a bizarre, twisty-turny flight. The wind was strong enough that we could only make about 85 to 90 knots going out but hit 135 to 140 knots coming back with the tail wind. Aerials, however, are only interesting when there is something to see. The photo of the day was made on the ground at the Magic Kingdom showing an empty Main Street USA with a pair of ducks walking down the rain soaked and abandoned street. It was the first time ever that the theme parks had closed. We only used two aerials on inside pages. In order to guarantee that we’d be able to fly, we were paying a full-day rental on the helicopter whether we used it or not so we figured we’d use at least some of the photos. By 5:30 pm. Tuesday, I was driving home. At one time, the forecast was for 45 mph winds by that time but the storm had made a strong turn away from Florida so it was only breezy. The schools had been closed all day and by noon, every business closed. I have never seen downtown Orlando literally abandoned.
I came home to a living room filled with junk we’re putting together for a garage sale. My oldest son and I had moved it the day before so I could actually park the cars in the garage (strange concept,. huh?) There wasn’t plywood, but I had used gaffer’s tapeon the windows as an insurance seal . Thankfully, the night passed quietly. The hurricane passed so far off shore that Orlando barely had strong winds. I could leave at sunrise without worrying about the safety of my family. I was sent to Orlando International Airport which had closed at 5 p.m. the night before. There were very few tourists there. Most had gone to hotels. You could look down the 200 yards or so of ticket counters on each air side and see no one. The Sentinel published a special edition for late rack sales and the presses were set to run at 11 a.m. All of the photographers shot quickly and got back to office. In a rare moment of efficiency, I shot only seven exposures at the airport. We published three of them. Later in the day, I went back to airport to photographer the first flights as the terminal reopened. A small photo ran on the front page the next day. Two photos I made of twins born during the storm were run on Local front. I’ve covered several hurricanes in the past and I’d be lying if I didn’t say that it can be exciting. But when it is your own home the storm is targeting, it is less exciting and more stressful. We were lucky that we got very little rain and really no wind in Orlando from Hurricane Floyd. I am back to a regular schedule now and the tape is off the windows at home. The Weather Channel, however, is talking about a system in the Gulf of Mexico. They say it will soon be named Harvey.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Tom
Burton
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Contributor
since 1998
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Behind
the Viewfinder - A Year in the Life of Photojournalism |
