Ophelia strengthens into hurricane off U.S. coast

By Gene Cherry

SALVO, North Carolina (Reuters) – Thousands of people fled
their homes in North Carolina’s barrier islands on Tuesday as
tropical Storm Ophelia strengthened into a hurricane again and
wobbled toward the southeast U.S. coast

Ophelia’s center was 110 miles south of Wilmington, North
Carolina. The storm was creeping north-northwest and was
expected to turn north and hit the North Carolina coast on
Wednesday night and Thursday, the forecasters said.

Evacuees streamed off the barrier islands, heading inland
before the buffeting winds forced authorities to close some of
the high-rise bridges to the mainland.

Ophelia had sat off the North and South Carolina coast for
four days, alternately strengthening into a hurricane and
weakening back to a tropical storm.

At 8 p.m. (0000 GMT), it had sustained winds of 75 mph (120
kph), just over the 74 mph (119 kph) threshold to become a
hurricane again, forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane
Center said.

Ophelia is the first hurricane to threaten the United
States since Category 4 Katrina killed hundreds in the U.S.
Gulf Coast and displaced 1 million people two weeks ago,
sparking deep criticism of the Bush administration’s response.

This time the federal government sent a Coast Guard admiral
to North Carolina in advance to co-ordinate relief for Ophelia.

MANDATORY EVACUATION ORDERS

Along the 100-mile (160-km) chain of barrier islands known
as the Outer Banks, mandatory evacuation orders were issued for
all 20,000 people on Hatteras Island, a popular vacation spot
that includes Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and the Cape Hatteras
National Seashore.

“Today is our window of opportunity and we are asking
everyone to leave,” said Sandy Sanderson, emergency management
coordinator for Dare County, which includes Hatteras Island.

North Carolina officials ordered everyone off of tiny
Ocracoke, a low-lying island reachable only by boat or plane,
and told visitors to leave coastal Onslow County, the home of
the U.S. Marines’ Camp Lejeune.

Authorities urged people to leave other barrier islands,
lowlands and coastal towns in North and South Carolina.

“Ophelia should not be taken lightly,” said North Carolina
Gov. Mike Easley.

Schools, seaports, ferries and bridges were closed and
shelters opened along the coast of the Carolinas, and Easley
put 200 National Guard troops on standby.

Ophelia was expected to be no more than a Category 1
hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, capable of
flooding coastal areas and washing out seafront roads. Such
storms can fell trees and power lines but rarely cause
structural damage.

Ophelia could dump up to 10 inches of rain on parts of the
Carolinas and send an 8-foot (2.5-meter) storm surge crashing
ashore. Forecasters expected flooding on the barrier islands
and coastal areas, but not widespread inland flooding.

“We’ve had very little rain since September 1. The rivers
are very low, so we are not expecting any river flooding,” said
Tom Kriehn, meteorologist in charge of the National Weather
Service office in Morehead City, North Carolina.

A hurricane warning was in effect for a 290-mile (460-km)
stretch of coastline from the South Santee River in South
Carolina through the Pamlico Sound in North Carolina, alerting
residents to expect hurricane conditions within 24 hours.

The storm is expected to come ashore near Wilmington, North
Carolina, move along the coast and then curve northeast back
out to sea.

But the air currents that steer tropical cyclones were weak
and Ophelia could still move erratically, the hurricane center
forecasters said. The strongest winds were north of the center
and would reach the coastline well before the center.