Dale: History proves state dodged bullet with Ivan

By By Fredie Carmichael / staff writer
October 3, 2004
State Insurance Commissioner George Dale says he never will forget standing in a doorway at Moss Point High School in 1969 and watching the destruction of Hurricane Camille.
Dale, who worked at the school at the time, said hundreds of residents were taking shelter at the school as he watched the roof of the gymnasium move up and down with the wind.
That's why Dale said Mississippi was fortunate the state didn't face a direct hit when Hurricane Ivan made landfall last month in Gulf Shores, Ala. a popular resort area near Mobile.
Thousands of Mississippi residents, including those along the Coast and in East Mississippi, suffered major damage from Ivan. But Dale said it could have been worse.
And while Hurricane Ivan may not go down historically as one of the worst natural disasters that state has faced, Dale said it was still bad.
John Baxter, warning coordination officer with the National Weather Service's Meridian office, said Ivan ranks as one of the worst disasters to ever strike this part of the state.
Baxter said the only comparable disaster locally is a tornado that ripped through Meridian in 1906. That tornado killed 23 people and caused $400,000 worth of property damage.
Baxter said it's hard to compare hurricanes to tornadoes because while winds are typically stronger in a tornado, he said they don't last for six to eight hours straight.
But, Baxter said he believes Hurricane Ivan is the worst hurricane to affect East Central Mississippi.
Both Baxter and Dale agree that Mississippi is fortunate that Hurricane Ivan didn't take the same path as Hurricane Camille did in 1969, which moved directly through coastal Mississippi and Alabama.
If it had, they said it would have been catastrophic for the state.