Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 16, 1995 TAG: 9508160093
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: MANTEO, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
The sky was clear and sunny in the afternoon as the hurricane churned at 80 mph hundreds of miles out at sea, but storm surf already thundered against the beaches.
Forecasters estimated the broad storm's most punishing winds most likely would hit land tonight along the North Carolina and Virginia coast.
Traffic through Manteo, on Roanoke Island between Nags Head and the North Carolina mainland, was bumper to bumper with cars toting surfboards, and recreational vehicles pulling personal watercraft and boats to safety.
``Nobody seemed real scared,'' said tourist Jeff Mahone, stopping for lunch in Manteo with Teresa Dermody after they cut short their Nags Heads vacation and headed back toward Richmond, Va.
However, at least three people have died in the surf since the weekend, and lifeguards closed East Coast beaches as far north as Maine.
In all, about 73,500 residents and tourists were told to evacuate Ocracoke Island, all of Dare County including Hatteras Island, and large parts of Carteret County on the mainland. People cannot be forced to leave.
The Navy sent warships out to open sea from the Norfolk Naval Base in Virginia to keep them from smashing into each other and their piers. Military airplanes were flown inland from coastal bases.
Ice cream shop owner Bill Watson taped the windows on his Nags Head store, where he lost $4,700 worth of merchandise in the area's last hurricane, Emily, in 1993. ``It's the price you pay for living in paradise,'' he said.
Hurricane warnings were posted from north of Little River Inlet in South Carolina north to Chincoteague, Va., a distance of about 420 miles.
A hurricane watch - a less severe form of advisory than a warning - was in effect for coastal areas of South Carolina, Maryland and Delaware on either side of the warning area.
``This storm is very big and widespread,'' said Tom Ditt, North Carolina state emergency management spokesman. ``It's going to hit everywhere along the coast in some degree.''
The heart of the storm was 285 miles east-southeast of Cape Hatteras at 11 p.m. Tuesday, rolling toward the west-northwest at 15 mph. Top sustained winds remained at 80 mph, and some strengthening was expected as the storm slowed.
Chris Samsury of the National Hurricane Center said Felix, an unusually wide, asymmetrical storm, could bring sustained winds of 95 mph ashore, with gusts as high as 110 - a strong Category 1 or weak Category 2 hurricane.
Gale-force winds as high as 60 mph could begin lashing Hampton Roads, Va., by late this afternoon
Gov. George Allen declared a state of emergency Tuesday because of the potential threat.
The winds, said National Weather Service meteorologist Bill Sammler, could be the least of the region's problems.
``Once the storm makes landfall, the winds will die off and will be increasingly less of a threat,'' he said. ``But there will potentially be a lot of rain, and possible severe weather, like isolated tornadoes.'' Tornadoes typically are spawned from hurricanes, he said, on their east or northeast sides.
Felix also could cause ``significant'' coastal and tidal flooding problems, Sammler said. If it remains on its predicted track, Virginia Beach could experience a 4- to 6-foot storm surge, not including normal tidal fluctuations, he said.
Keywords:
INFOLINE
by CNB