Hurricane Ophelia pummels coast of North Carolina

RALEIGH – Hurricane Ophelia battered coastal North Carolina with heavy rains and gusting winds on Wednesday in a slow-moving assault that was expected to last for two days and trigger dangerous flooding.

Ophelia was the first hurricane to hit the United States since the much more powerful Katrina killed hundreds in the US Gulf Coast and displaced 1 million people two weeks ago. Ophelia’s centre was 32 km south-southeast of Cape Lookout, North Carolina, at 11pm on Wednesday.It was expected to hit Cape Lookout early yesterday then move near the Outer Banks, the chain of islands along the state’s northern coast.The storm’s strongest winds hammered the state’s south and central coast on Wednesday.Schools, seaports, ferries and businesses were closed and 1 700 people went into shelters along the North Carolina coast.More than 123 000 customers had lost electricity.Squalls strafed the coastline and kicked up battering waves that gnawed at beaches and washed over roads as Ophelia crept along, parallel to the coast at about 11 kph.Ophelia had top sustained winds of 136 kph and could strengthen slightly, the forecasters said.Storms of Ophelia’s magnitude can flood coastal areas and fell trees and power lines.They rarely cause structural damage but Ophelia’s slow pace meant coastal buildings would have to endure those winds for a day or more.North Carolina Gov.Mike Easley warned that the longer Ophelia was over the state, the more rain would fall and the more seawater would pile up and crash ashore as storm surge.Forecasters said Ophelia could dump up to 38 cm of rain on parts of North Carolina and send a 3-metre storm surge over the coast and up into the rivers.- Nampa-ReutersOphelia’s centre was 32 km south-southeast of Cape Lookout, North Carolina, at 11pm on Wednesday.It was expected to hit Cape Lookout early yesterday then move near the Outer Banks, the chain of islands along the state’s northern coast.The storm’s strongest winds hammered the state’s south and central coast on Wednesday.Schools, seaports, ferries and businesses were closed and 1 700 people went into shelters along the North Carolina coast.More than 123 000 customers had lost electricity.Squalls strafed the coastline and kicked up battering waves that gnawed at beaches and washed over roads as Ophelia crept along, parallel to the coast at about 11 kph.Ophelia had top sustained winds of 136 kph and could strengthen slightly, the forecasters said.Storms of Ophelia’s magnitude can flood coastal areas and fell trees and power lines.They rarely cause structural damage but Ophelia’s slow pace meant coastal buildings would have to endure those winds for a day or more.North Carolina Gov.Mike Easley warned that the longer Ophelia was over the state, the more rain would fall and the more seawater would pile up and crash ashore as storm surge.Forecasters said Ophelia could dump up to 38 cm of rain on parts of North Carolina and send a 3-metre storm surge over the coast and up into the rivers.- Nampa-Reuters