[chico20854]

March 29, 1998

Hurricane Jeff strikes Florida; with no warning systems in place, over 50,000 people are killed, depopulating the coastal regions. The high-rise hotels and condos of the gulf barrier islands and the concrete and rebar foundations resting on little more than white sand and seashells collapse like card houses before the wind, their foundations literally washed out from under them by the giant waves. Major changes are created in the geography of the offshore islands: the sea reaches out and took away a billion tons of sand, concrete, asphalt, homes, palms, and people in one mad night of natural fury. The mouth of Tampa Bay with its deep water channel is almost silted shut by the same storm winds. Although depopulated by the Thanksgiving Day strikes and subsequent exodus, the area is still home to millions who are determined to stay in their homes or else. The beach area becomes a desert uninhabited by anything but crabs and gulls.

The first three months of the year have seen massive casaulties, both military and civilian, in the USSR. Fuel shortages, coupled with the extremely cold winter, lack of water and medical care, and the breakdown of civilian control have all contributed to the huge number of deaths. Over one-half of the civilian population in the Ukraine, Byelorussia, the Baltic states, and White Russia perished in those three months. Thousands of refugees have fled the destruction of the cities and scavenged the countryside. Many try to flee to Western Europe, while others join with deserters or marauders to form enclaves of security. The Soviet Government tries desperately to maintain control, but the only real authority and order is in those areas where Soviet troops are present. Most field armies are in control of their own destinies, and even though many remain loyal to the Soviet government, many have little contact with that government.

Army Front commanders take over the role of civilian authority as well as military authority and reestablish some sense of order in the western areas of the Soviet Union, but control is very limited. The Government of the Soviet Union, now centered in Ryazan, actually only controls the Strategic Reserve Forces and still has some authority over the forces engaged in Iran. The Politburo's interaction with the forces in the west are more like dealings with foreign powers rather than their own army. The men of the Politburo begin to act more and more like Hitler had in the Fuhrer Bunker during the last days of World War II, giving orders to units that either no longer existed or no longer had any intention of responding to those orders.

Unofficially,

As the Army in Europe reorganizes, Private First Class Randall Cutler is promoted to Specialist.

The 53rd Hungarian Mechanized Rifle Brigade has succeeded in extracting itself from the blocked rail line along Lake Baikal and seizing a number of small craft and two ferries, allowing the process of ferrying the formation across the lake to begin. The brigade's rear guard encounters forward detchments from the 27th (my 90th) Guards Tank Division; after an initial clash of small arms fire the two units determine that the Soviet tankers are headed to the Western Front and not pursuing the Hungarians.