hurricane
Ophelia Pummels North Carolina
Coast
By John Jessup
CBN News Correspondent
CBN.com –
WASHINGTON - The coast of North Carolina is taking a pounding
from Hurricane Ophelia - where flooding and power outages have
hit tens of thousands of people.
The Category One storm is expected to hover
over the region with heavy rains and high winds for at least another
24 hours.
The slow-moving storm, with maximum sustained wind speeds of
85 mph, uprooted trees, battered homes and businesses, and knocked
down power lines. More than 100,000 North Carolinians lost power
as the storm hit.
Over a foot of rain fell in some areas, flooding rivers, bays,
and streets. Governor Mike Easley declared a state of emergency
and implored residents in low-lying areas to obey evacuation orders.
"Once the high winds come, we cannot get in and get you
out,” Easley warned. “We cannot get there by boat,
by helicopter, by plane."
While many have left, scores of residents are defying the order
and plan to ride it out.
Morehead City, N.C. resident Betty Bell insisted, "We're
ready for it, and we've got food and water and everything is under
control, so we should be fine."
In an effort to be proactive, 250 specialists from FEMA got to
the state early, and a small number of National Guardsmen took
positions in areas considered more at risk. Ice and water trailers
were stationed in neighboring states, and the Pentagon put troops,
engineers, and medical teams on alert if Ophelia's storm surge
rises above 10 feet, as expected.
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