By LAURA COLLINS
News-Argus Staff Writer

Having led North Carolina through Hurricane Floyd in 1999, former Gov. Jim Hunt was in no mood Thursday to go over it again. Instead he chose to look forward and at how state and local officials can do better in the future.

“It was a terrible time, but as I said, we've been through that. We were deeply touched by it and we're here today to talk about how we do better,” he said.

Speaking at the East Carolina University Hurricane Floyd Symposium: Commemorating the 10th Anniversary of Hurricane Floyd, Hunt said it's important to remember the past, but use it to plan better for the future.

In the state, Hurricane Floyd flooded 62,000 homes, 3,000 of which had five feet or more of water, and 66 of the 100 counties were declared disaster areas. More than 50 people lost their lives as a result of Floyd. Hunt estimated that three million chickens and 30,000 hogs were killed.

He explained that it's important for people to deal with natural disasters in phases, which include preparedness, response and recovery, with the most emphasis placed on recovery.

“What we need to do is adapt and develop plans of action for after a flood. After Floyd, we realized federal laws and programs in place did not address our needs in eastern North Carolina,” he said. “In North Carolina I want you to understand that your state has done some very special things that you should be proud of.”

Hunt said they were about to figure out quickly that the state would have to come up with some assistance in addition to the federal programs. $836 million went to new state programs.

“When FEMA said no, we didn't just say that's too bad, we can't help you, we found a way to help,” he said.

He added that one of the biggest achievements in the past 10 years was the state flood plane mapping initiative. After Floyd, they realized the maps weren't accurate, so the state was remapped, which Hunt refers to as “the best maps in the country.”

His final message to the crowd was to focus on prevention.

“Do the best we can to figure out a way to do better...We need to be doing the job of prevention. People are focusing on rescuing, I want them to also focus on prevention.”

Also at the symposium, Emily Young, assistant director of recovery for the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management, encouraged people to be ready for the next natural disaster.

“Do you have a preparedness kit?” she said. “Can you take care of yourself for 72 hours?”

She said people should have enough food, water, clothing to support them in their house for at least three days in the event of a natural disaster. People on prescriptions can get up three or four extra pills to put in their kit and should also have an extra pair of glasses, Young said.

Jimmy Tickel, a veterinary specialist with North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, said it's important for people to also take their pets and livestock into consideration.

“In Floyd we really weren't prepared at all. On every level, on the individual level, local, state, national level we were all ill-prepared,” he said. “I don't think people thought that the eastern side of the state would become part of the ocean. A lot of pets didn't make it through Floyd if they were left behind. Especially is they were chained to the porch.”

Tickel said people should also prepare survival kits for their animals and livestock as well, including extra food, medical supplies, carriers and generators for farms.

Another panelist, Sara Jamison, forecaster and flood lead for National Weather Service in Morehead City, said there are still several things meteorologists are working. Area of focus as a result of Floyd include developing a more accurate cyclone track, improving forecasting and developing higher resolution wind data.