North Carolina:
Tourists and residents of Ocracoke Island, one of the barrier islands of the Outer Banks in North Carolina, were piling onto ferries and boarding up their properties on Wednesday, as officials ordered the first evacuations in anticipation of a strengthening Hurricane Earl.
One of the busiest weekends of the year quickly turned to bust when forecasters predicted the storm would hit the area late on Thursday. Innkeepers watched their guests depart and considered whether they, too, would have to evacuate.
"We were full and we were planning on a nice weekend for Labor Day, but obviously, that's not going to happen," said George Chamberlin, the owner of Captain's Landing, a small inn located on the harbor in Ocracoke Island.
"It's too bad that we have to have these interruptions, but it's just part of the cost of living on the East Coast," he said.As the National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane warning for the North Carolina coast on Wednesday, the state's division of Emergency Management also issued a mandatory evacuation for visitors on Hatteras Island at 8:30 a.m., according to a spokesman for the office. Further up the Atlantic Coast, where a hurricane watch was issued for the Virginia coast, Gov. Bob McDonnell declared a state of emergencyThe storm had weakened to a Category 3 early Wednesday with winds of 125 m.p.h., headed past the Bahamas on a northwest track. But the National Hurricane Center said at 2 p.m. on Wednesday that preliminary data from an Air Force plane indicated that the hurricane was strengthening and could again become a Category 4 hurricane later on Wednesday. It was still about 680 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras as of 2 p.m. on Wednesday, but forecasters were predicting the storm would change its course slightly late Wednesday and deal a glancing blow to North Carolina, making its closest approach to Cape Hatteras on Thursday.
From there, forecasters said, it could curve away from the coast somewhat as it makes it way north, perhaps hitting Cape Cod, Mass., and the Maine shoreline on Friday night and Saturday.
By Wednesday morning, only the steady stream of evacuees showed evidence of an approaching storm. Ferries leaving Ocracoke Island, where there are only about 800 full-time residents and about 5,000 visitors, can hold up to 300 people and 50 vehicles.
"The 10 a.m. departure was completely full," said Lucy Wallace, a spokeswoman for the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
Although forecasters predict that the storm will not likely make landfall -- remaining about 100 miles off coast -- it could hit the coast with destructive winds and currents.
"It's a pretty potent storm," said Dave Dombek, expert senior meteorologist with Accuweather.com.
The Navy sent out warnings to people in the Norfolk area and alerted ships in the waters off Virginia that they may be ordered out to sea. The National Hurricane Center extended its hurricane watch from the North Carolina/Virginia border north to Cape Henlopen in Delaware.
FEMA told reporters on Tuesday that it had emergency teams already on the ground in North Carolina. The agency was urging residents of North Carolina, particularly those along the coast, to consider stocking up on food and water and preparing emergency plans.
Forecasters said that even if it fails to hit the Atlantic coast directly, the storm could still cause trouble up and down the eastern seaboard, generating large waves and hazardous rip tides that prompt beach closures and force vacationers to stay away from the ocean during the final week of summer vacation.
"The surf is going to be rough, the waves are going to be high, and the rip tides are going to be dangerous," he said. "People could get swept out to sea if they try to go into the ocean. It will be a major wave producer."
"That's from the net effect of wind, the rain and rough surf and the undertow and rip currents," he said.
In the Caribbean, Earl left a trail of downed power lines, damaged homes and crowded emergency shelters. The storm hit the smallest of the Leeward Islands -- Antigua, Barbuda, St. Maarten and St. Martin -- over the weekend, and then careered toward Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands.
All public schools in Puerto Rico were closed on Monday and government workers were sent home. After the storm passed, the authorities said about 10,000 people had their power knocked out and more than 3,000 were left without running water. Officials there were dispatching emergency teams and distributing food and water, the government said.
One of the busiest weekends of the year quickly turned to bust when forecasters predicted the storm would hit the area late on Thursday. Innkeepers watched their guests depart and considered whether they, too, would have to evacuate.
"We were full and we were planning on a nice weekend for Labor Day, but obviously, that's not going to happen," said George Chamberlin, the owner of Captain's Landing, a small inn located on the harbor in Ocracoke Island.
"It's too bad that we have to have these interruptions, but it's just part of the cost of living on the East Coast," he said.As the National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane warning for the North Carolina coast on Wednesday, the state's division of Emergency Management also issued a mandatory evacuation for visitors on Hatteras Island at 8:30 a.m., according to a spokesman for the office. Further up the Atlantic Coast, where a hurricane watch was issued for the Virginia coast, Gov. Bob McDonnell declared a state of emergencyThe storm had weakened to a Category 3 early Wednesday with winds of 125 m.p.h., headed past the Bahamas on a northwest track. But the National Hurricane Center said at 2 p.m. on Wednesday that preliminary data from an Air Force plane indicated that the hurricane was strengthening and could again become a Category 4 hurricane later on Wednesday. It was still about 680 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras as of 2 p.m. on Wednesday, but forecasters were predicting the storm would change its course slightly late Wednesday and deal a glancing blow to North Carolina, making its closest approach to Cape Hatteras on Thursday.
From there, forecasters said, it could curve away from the coast somewhat as it makes it way north, perhaps hitting Cape Cod, Mass., and the Maine shoreline on Friday night and Saturday.
By Wednesday morning, only the steady stream of evacuees showed evidence of an approaching storm. Ferries leaving Ocracoke Island, where there are only about 800 full-time residents and about 5,000 visitors, can hold up to 300 people and 50 vehicles.
"The 10 a.m. departure was completely full," said Lucy Wallace, a spokeswoman for the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
Although forecasters predict that the storm will not likely make landfall -- remaining about 100 miles off coast -- it could hit the coast with destructive winds and currents.
"It's a pretty potent storm," said Dave Dombek, expert senior meteorologist with Accuweather.com.
The Navy sent out warnings to people in the Norfolk area and alerted ships in the waters off Virginia that they may be ordered out to sea. The National Hurricane Center extended its hurricane watch from the North Carolina/Virginia border north to Cape Henlopen in Delaware.
FEMA told reporters on Tuesday that it had emergency teams already on the ground in North Carolina. The agency was urging residents of North Carolina, particularly those along the coast, to consider stocking up on food and water and preparing emergency plans.
Forecasters said that even if it fails to hit the Atlantic coast directly, the storm could still cause trouble up and down the eastern seaboard, generating large waves and hazardous rip tides that prompt beach closures and force vacationers to stay away from the ocean during the final week of summer vacation.
"The surf is going to be rough, the waves are going to be high, and the rip tides are going to be dangerous," he said. "People could get swept out to sea if they try to go into the ocean. It will be a major wave producer."
"That's from the net effect of wind, the rain and rough surf and the undertow and rip currents," he said.
In the Caribbean, Earl left a trail of downed power lines, damaged homes and crowded emergency shelters. The storm hit the smallest of the Leeward Islands -- Antigua, Barbuda, St. Maarten and St. Martin -- over the weekend, and then careered toward Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands.
All public schools in Puerto Rico were closed on Monday and government workers were sent home. After the storm passed, the authorities said about 10,000 people had their power knocked out and more than 3,000 were left without running water. Officials there were dispatching emergency teams and distributing food and water, the government said.
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