The glass pops out of the bedroom window of my stilt house on Mobile Bay. I look out, see Alex struggling to reach his Mercedes 450 SL.

"Hurricane" derives from Maya and Carib Indian words for devil, evil spirit, storm god. Severe storms create a lot of noise; Frederic barrels into Mobile Bay wailing like a banshee.

Alex, I yell. A galvanized tin roof like a gigantic flying razor blade slices through the right window of his car.

Nine out of ten deaths in hurricanes occur from drowning in storm tides or surges of water that sweep ashore with driving winds.

Alex, I scream, as a 13-foot wall of water heads straight toward him. I rush down the back steps.

David batters the Caribbean with torrential rains and winds gusting to 175 mph. And Frederic, a monster unable to control his direction, strengthens in David's wake.

The tide tows Alex under. He lies face down in a shallow pool 50 feet away. Palm fronds arch and rattle over my head.

In Dominica, the air whips into a green froth of mud, water and coconuts; and in Mobile, uprooted oaks, stoplights and campers bounce across the streets.

You mustn't die, not now. I fight the wind, dodge flying objects. Finally bending over him, I check his pulse, listen for breathing.

A hurricane, like a hearth fire, requires air to flow from the bottom, to spiral up the chimney (the eye), and spill over the top.

He's drowning. I pull off his gold signet ring. Alex, you bastard, don't die. I climb on his back and push hard with deep rhythmic motions.

During the storm's confusion, looting occurs in Mobile. And in Dominica, thieves steal food, furniture, clothes, cars, even relief shipments.

Alex coughs, spits up and begins to breathe. He shakes his head, the head I've loved and hated for two years. My dress, wet gauzy cotton, sticks to my body like the fabric on a Greek statue.

August/September hurricanes typically survive only two weeks. Once over land, deprived of ocean warmth and moisture, they rapidly subside.

Now I know what I must do. I take a gob of my skirt, stuff it in Alex's mouth. I put both my hands over his nose and press. His eyes open-mine close. His arms flail, then his muscles slacken.

In Dominica, David kills 56 and destroys most of the banana crop. David rates 4 on the 1-5 Saffir-Simpson scale, with 5 being catastrophic. Frederic kills only five but makes a shambles of Mobile.

Women in ports all over the world cheer. I turn to go. Alex grabs my foot. Sara, he says.

Hurricanes deliver rain to barren regions and disseminate the extreme heat that accumulates in the tropics.

The only way to escape a guy like that is to move inland.