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Ophelia strengthens into hurricane off U.S. coast

Posted on: Tuesday, 13 September 2005, 21:44 CDT

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.

Source: REUTERS

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