Oral history interview with Richard H. Moore, August 2, 2002
Subtitle: interview K-0598, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007)
Contributors: Hartman, Leda, interviewer; Southern Oral History Program; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Documenting the American South (Project); University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library
Edition: Electronic ed.
Publisher: University Library, UNC-Chapel Hill
Published: 2007
Place of publication: [Chapel Hill, N.C.]
Language: eng
Subjects: Interviews; Officials and employees; Crisis management in government; Disaster relief; Hurricane Floyd, 1999; Floods; Flood damage; North Carolina. Division of Emergency Management; North Carolina; North Carolina. Department of Crime Control and Public Safety
Other titles: Interview K-0598, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007); Interview with Richard H. Moore, August 2, 2002; Oral histories of the American South.
Description: Richard H. Moore, State Treasurer of North Carolina at the time of this interview, describes the impact of Hurricane Floyd on North Carolina, and the state's response to the crisis. When Hurricane Floyd brought horrendous flooding to North Carolina in 1999, Moore was the Secretary of Crime Control and Public Safety under Governor Jim Hunt. Moore describes his duties as the head of this department, noting that during times of emergency, he was in charge of distributing and managing both state and federal resources apportioned for relief. After briefly describing the hurricane and the flooding it caused, Moore discusses the state's response. Arguing that the impact of Hurricane Fran three years earlier had led to reorganization for better efficiency, Moore lauds the state's quick response, in part facilitated by the implementation of computers for communication. He describes the leadership role of Eric Tolbert, the Director of the Division of Emergency Management, and the evolution of that department during Moore's tenure. Moore offers his thoughts on the demographic changes and internal growth of the state that generated the need for a more systematic response to natural disasters. He describes the measures taken to ameliorate the destructive impact on housing, agriculture, and industry, including the implementation of a Federal Emergency Management Agency trailer park. Moore concludes the interview by responding to public criticism that relief had been too long delayed and that many of the flood's victims had fallen through the cracks.
Notes: Title from menu page (viewed on June 10, 2008).

Interview participants: Richard H. Moore, interviewee; Leda Hartman, interviewer.

Duration: 00:56:47.

This electronic edition is part of the UNC-CH digital library, Documenting the American South.  It is a part of the collection Oral histories of the American South.

Text encoded by Jennifer Joyner.  Sound recordings digitized by Aaron Smithers.

Text (HTML and XML/TEI source file) and audio (MP3); 2 files: ca. 121.8 kilobytes, 103 megabytes.

Original version: Southern Oral History Program Collection, (#4007), Series K, Southern communities, interview K-0598, Manuscripts Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Transcribed by Sharon Caughill. Original transcript: 33 p.

Funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services supported the electronic publication of this interview.

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

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