Monitor: Local reaction after a state of emergency was declared as Hurricane Floyd approached America's eastern seaboard

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THIS TIME, just by the sheer luck of its geography, Floyd was not to be a West Coast hurricane. Naples' role was to serve as a safe port amid a very big storm. Helping the endangered and displaced as best we can is not only the right thing to do for now, it is an insurance policy for the next time, when Southwest Floridians may be forced to head elsewhere for protection. Southwest Florida's next assignment is to stay tuned. Floyd's future cannot be taken for granted, and Hurricane Gert is out there. This hurricane season - a late bloomer - extends beyond Thanksgiving.

Naples Daily News

FOLKS IN Central Florida, bracing for Hurricane Floyd, have had their fingers crossed, waiting for the assault. Hurricanes are bad news anywhere, of course, but they can be especially troubling at sea because there is nowhere to hide. However, we're all much better off now with radar and storm-tracking planes. Nevertheless, the really bad ones are bad anywhere - and expensive in dollars and lives.

Orlando Sentinel

IN ONE sense, Hurricane Floyd has been a well-behaved storm. Almost always, hurricanes deal out surprises that throw the experts off. But in the course of its two-week life, this storm has developed, grown into a monster, moved westward and then weakened somewhat, almost precisely as meteorologists expected it to. Now that Hurricane Floyd has entered a meteorological realm where it must interact with another powerful weather system, the situation could get dicier.

Atlanta Journal Constitution

YOU'RE ON your own now. If you're among the estimated 40 per cent of Chatham Countians who have not left the area under the mandatory evacuation order, you have just a few precious unexpected hours of manageable weather left in which to hit the road. But make sure that you do hit the road. Now. When gale force winds reach us, emergency officials will end the evacuation. You won't be arrested if you're just starting your trip to Macon. But if you run into trouble, there won't be any emergency crews who will be around to help you. You will be on your own with a monster close behind you.

Savannah Morning News

IT'S A sad fact of life that inevitably there are those who seek to profit from the suffering that follows a natural disaster such as this one. Local officials issued strong warnings Tuesday to those who might yield to the impulse to engage in looting or price gouging in the wake of Hurricane Floyd. The message: Don't even think about it; it won't be tolerated. Perhaps a sense of community will strike a chord. Our next priority (after saving lives through evacuation and shelters) is to make sure that our city avoids the loss of honor and besmirched reputation by having (looting and price gouging) going on. These words of advice should be heeded. They mean to enforce the curfew (beginning at 7 tonight), protect property and stop profiteers. It's conceivable that some people don't appreciate the stern official resolve against a repetition of the price gouging and looting that occurred after Hurricane Hugo. Just in case, let these authorities' statements be fair warning.

Post and Courier, Charleston