Page 14-Saturday, August 9, 1980-T
Texans
evacuate
as Allen
approaches
mainland
BROWNSVILLE, Texas (UPI) -
Hurrican Allen, a monster storm that
"fills up the Gulf of Mexico," boiled
toward the Texas-Mexico coastline
yesterday with an awesome fury that
was expected to grow. Thousands of
Texans boarded up their property on
the coastal barrier islands and fled
inland.
Allen, slowly regaining lost strength,
pulled loose from the Yucatan penin-
sula and bore west by northwest at 18
mph. Forecasters said that path would
bring it ashore between Brownsville
and Corpus Christi by Saturday after-
noon.
CIVIL DEFENSE Director Ken
Keller in Aransas Pass on the north side
of Corpus Christi Bay ordered the
evacuation of the city's 7,000 residenta
by midnight because of expected 4- to 6-
foot tides. He said most already had left
during the earlier voluntary evacuation
of the county.
"We're so low and sitting on a penin-
sula, if tides got over 4 feet we're
marooned," Sheriff Bob Hewes said.
"The roads are packed north and west,
but people are leaving in an orderly
fashion."
In a cautionary move, Louisiana's
lower Cameron Parish, population
6,000, was ordered evacuated by Civil
Defense officials. Director Pete Picou
said he expected 95 per cent compliance
by nightfall.
ALLEN HAD surged into the Gulf as
the second largest Atlantic hurricane
ever after sideswiping Haiti, Jamaica,
Cuba and the Yucatan, claiming 92
lives and causing millions of dollars in
damage. But the jungles of the Yucatan
Peninsula slowed its winds from 185
mph to 135 mph.
Small crafththroughout the western
Gulf, from the Mississippi River to
Mexico's Bay of Campeche, were ad-
vised to stay in port, and the Miami
Hurricane Center upgraded its
hurricane watch to a hurricane war-
ning for the entire Texas coast._
Mexican authorities took the same
precaution for the relatively un-
populated northeastern Mexican coast.
"It's not chugging along on a direct
path, but is still wobbling back and for-
th," said forecaster Paul Herbert in
Miami.
A Hurricane Center forecaster said if
Allen did intensify, "we would expect it
to slow down and turn right," en-
dangering the central and north texas
coasts.
TONIGHT at
MAGN ANE
HURRICANE ALLEN swirls 365 miles southeast of Brownsville, Texas, at 2:00 p.m. EDT yesterday, as it continues on
its northwesterly course toward the U.S. mainland. Although the storm reportedly lost a little steam during its pass
over Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, its winds are estimated at 135 m.p.h. and are increasing over the Gulf of Mexico.
Scientists say they can
0
predict Helens
From UPI and AP BUT U.S. Geological Surv
VANCOUVER, Wash. - Volatile tists and seismologists, w
Mount St. Helens trembled with small monitored the ravaged volcai
earthquakes and burped plumes of first began acting up in March
steam and ash skyward yesterday warning in time to safely
following its fifth big eruption, but several hundred geologists, F
scientists expressed confidence they vice firefighters and loggers
can now predict any further major ex- the volcano's "red
plosions. Officials, now confident
The volcano boomed with two distin- scientists' early warning watc
ctive blasts Thursday that sent ash tive, lifted a 20-mile restricti
clouds as high as eight miles into the the base of the mountain an
sky and spilled super-hot gas and loggers, firefighters and sci
pumice over the rim of its huge crater. approach within 12 miles of th
Bell bargainers try
to avert, walkout
VI
N.
n
h,
w
el
io
is
if
to
WASHINGTON(SP) - Amid strike
warnings from union leaders, the chief
bargainers for the Bell System and the
Communications Workers of America
huddled with federal mediators yester-
day in an effort to avert a threatened
weekend strike by 700,000 telephone
workers.
Sources said the top bargainers met
Thursday and again yesterday with
chief federal mediator Wayne Horvitz
after CWA officials complained that the
two sides remained far from settling on
a new contract before a midnight
Saturday strike deadline. The sources
asked not to be identified.
HOWEVER, A spokesman for
American Telephone & Telegraph Co.
clung to his optimistic prediction that
bargainers would agree on new con-
tracts before the deadline.
-Publicly, the CWA charged that the
company has not made an economic of-
fer since an initial wage proposal was
rejected by the CWA and two other
unions on July 30.
However, labor sources disclosed
that the company made an improved
economic offer to the(
following day, but union b
again rejected the package.
THE SECOND OFFER wJ
secret, the sources said, that
unions bargaining with Bell d
out about the proposal until TI
The first offer amounted t
cent wage increase over thr
in the first year, just under 7
in each of the next two years,
plus a maximum of 6 per ce
living increase. I
The union contended that
particularly the cost-of-livin
was unacceptable in the fac
cent annual inflation.
THE COMPANY'S subseq
included a 9% per cent first-y
2 per cent in each of the
years plus unlimited cost
raises that would provide wo:
about 80 per cent of the actua
in the official inflation rate.
If inflation were to run at 10
year, the wage package w
more than 30 per cent over thr
eruptio0ns
'ey scien- "It doesn't appear to be a significant
vho have eruption by any means," said Jan
no since it Simmons of the Forest Service.
, issued a THERE WERE NO earthquakes and
evacuate the "harmonic tremors" which
orest Ser- preceded Thursday's eruption tapered
vorking in off after midnight and ended by 6 a.m.
zone." yesterday, said Christian Boyko, a
that the geophysics spokeswoman at the
h is effec- University of Washington.
on around Harmonic tremors are flurries of
d allowed rhythmic vibrations, unlike the jolts of
entists to earthquakes, which scientists believe
e crater. signal the movement within the volcano
of magma or molten rock.
The repeated eruptions are becoming
commonplace to some Washington
residents.
"WE DON'T GET as upset as we used
to," said Lee Thomas, acivil deputy
with the Skamania sheriff's office in
Stevenson, about 30 miles southeast of
the volcano.
CWA the "We still go on an alert because you
argainers never can tell if it will be more than
light ash. It was bound to happen after
as kept so so many repeats.
two other "It doesn't create quite the feeling
lid not find among people it used to," she said.
'ursday. "They don't become quite as concer-
o a 25 per ned."
ree years: THURSDAY'S ASH fall was con-
per cent; siderably lighter than that produced by
2 per cent the May 18 eruption that blew 1,300 feet
nt cost-of- off the conical summit of the 9,677-foot
mountain in southwestern Washington.
the offer, Officials said Thursday's eruption was
ceiling, similar to ash eruptions on May 25,
g ofe14ipg, June 12 and July 22, but that it was the
eof 14 per least forceful.
The May 18 blast killed 31 people and
uent offer left 33 others missing and presumed
year raise, dead.
next two Art VanBuskirk, of the National Cen-
t-of-living ter for Disease Control, said from
rkers with volcano watch headquarters that repor-
l increase is of light ash fall came from 130 miles
- north of the volcano at Monroe, more
per cent a than 200 miles northeasterly in Omak,
ould total and 50 miles southwest in the Portland,
-ee years. Ore. area.