Ophelia threatens North Carolina

HURRICANE Ophelia hovered off the coast of the south-eastern US yesterday and could hit North Carolina later in the week, forecasters said.

But forecasters at the US National Hurricane Centre in Miami cautioned that Ophelia’s path was unusually hard to project because the storm was not moving.

North Carolina Governor Mike Easley declared a state of emergency on Saturday and officials issued a mandatory evacuation order for non-residents on the vacation island of Ocracoke.

A hurricane watch was in effect from Edisto Beach, South Carolina, north to Cape Lookout, North Carolina, cautioning millions of residents that fierce winds and other hurricane conditions were possible within 36 hours.

Yesterday forecasters said the storm’s centre was 255 miles south of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Ophelia had top sustained winds of 85 mph and was not expected to strengthen much or even move much in the next two days.

They expect it to eventually hit North Carolina on Wednesday or Thursday.

Ophelia was a Category 1 hurricane, meaning it could be accompanied by a four- to five-foot storm surge. Such storms can flood coastal roads and damage piers, trees and unanchored mobile homes but rarely cause structural damage.

Hurricane Katrina was a far more powerful Category 4 storm.