SALTER PATH, N.C.--Hurricane Ophelia crawled along
the North Carolina coast Thursday, prolonging its punishment of the Outer Banks
with rain and wind as coastal residents elsewhere returned home to damaged homes
and businesses.
While the weakening storm's center was expected to stay just off shore, the
northern side of Ophelia's eyewall, the ring of high wind surrounding the eye,
could remain over the Outer Banks until midday Friday, the National Hurricane
Center said.
Ophelia was "just beating us to death," said Alton Ballance, who lives on the
Outer Banks' Ocracoke Island, just south of Hatteras. "It's similar to the
wintertime nor'easters that lay there and beat you for a couple of days."
Gov. Mike Easley said getting a handle on the scope of damage was difficult
because of the storm's slow path, first affecting the state's southeastern coast
on Tuesday and then crawling north and east Wednesday and Thursday to its
position off the Outer Banks.
More than 12,000 homes and businesses remained without power late Thursday in
eastern North Carolina, utilities said, down from a high of 200,000 overnight.
More than 48,500 homes and businesses remained without power Thursday in
eastern North Carolina, utilities said.
It appeared the mainland had dodged the severe flooding many had feared, but
the wind and waves had taken a toll.
"We were not expecting this," said Laurie Garner, whose boyfriend's
restaurant was severely damaged at Salter Path on Bogue Banks, southwest of
Morehead City. "It just beat us and beat us and beat us."
Salter Path Fire Capt. Joey Frost estimated that as many as 25 people had to
be rescued. In neighboring Emerald Isle, six houses were destroyed and 129 had
major damage.
Ophelia, an erratic storm that has looped and meandered north since forming
off the Florida coast last week, stalled early Thursday afternoon, then resumed
a drift toward the east-northeast at about 3 mph, the hurricane center said.
Its top sustained wind speed had eased back to 70 mph, below the 74
mile-per-hour threshold for a hurricane, and it was classified a tropical storm
at 8 p.m. by the National Hurricane Center.
Since it was weakening and its direction was toward open ocean, a hurricane
warning for the North Carolina coast was reduced to a tropical storm warning,
extending from Cape Lookout northward to Cape Charles Light, Va., including the
mouth of Chesapeake Bay, the hurricane center said.
The storm was blamed for one traffic death. Earlier, a surfer disappeared in
rough water off the coast of South Carolina.
On the Outer Banks, power had been restored to Buxton by Thursday evening and
crews were working to restore it to Frisco and Hatteras Village.
