Ophelia storm prompts state of emergency in North Carolina

MIAMI (AFP) Sep 13, 2005
Two weeks after Hurricane Katrina devastated the US Gulf Coast, another storm, Ophelia, inched toward the east coast on Monday, prompting authorities to post storm warnings, ready troops and urge residents to leave isolated islands.

The National Hurricane Center issued a warning for a 440-kilometer (275-mile) stretch from Edisto Beach, South Carolina, to Cape Lookout in North Carolina -- an arc of coastline that is home to hundreds of thousands of people. Forecasters predicted landfall Tuesday or Wednesday.

Ophelia was downgraded to a tropical storm early Monday but the center said the storm could pick up force on Tuesday and become a category one hurricane again.

Its slow pace and broad reach -- winds extending up to 160 miles from its center -- could cause headaches.

"We have the unpleasant possibility that the cyclone could linger near the southeast United States through five days," said Richard Pasch, meteorologist for the NHC.

The governor of North Carolina, Mike Easley, declared a state of emergency, ordering the mobilization of 200 National Guard troops and the evacuation of coastal islands. The governor warned citizens to brace for a storm that would last for 24 hours or more.

"I urge citizens to take necessary precautions to keep their families safe," Easley said. "This storm is moving slowly which means that we will feel its effects for a longer time."

The federal government, lashed by a storm of criticism for its slow response to Katrina, announced that relief supplies had been prepositioned at strategic points on the US east coast and that emergency personnel were standing by, well in advance of Ophelia´s landfall.

"The federal government is coordinating closely with state and local officials and emergency management personnel to maximize readiness and response efforts and to provide any assistance requested by the states," the US Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Monday.

At 2100 GMT, Ophelia swirled in the Atlantic some 265 kilometersmiles) east of Charleston, South Carolina.

The storm was inching northwest at 4.8 kilometers (three miles) per hour with maximum sustained winds near 160 miles per hour, the NHC said.

Tropical storm-force winds extended outward up to 257 kilometersmiles) from the center.

"Ophelia is nearly stationary and a very slow northwestward motion is expected today," the hurricane center said.

Ophelia pales in comparison to Hurricane Katrina, which slammed into the southern Gulf Coast on August 29, wreaking havoc across Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Katrina was a category four storm, with sustained winds hitting 210-250 kilometers (131-155 miles) per hour, and surges of four to five meters (13-18 feet) above normal.

The estimated one million people displaced by Katrina have sought refuge across the country, but South Carolina has stopped receiving flights of evacuees so it can prepare for the new storm.

If the 2004 storm season was exceptional, with four hurricanes hitting Florida, experts said this storm season could turn out to be even worse.

"We expect that by the time the 2005 hurricane season is over, we will witness seasonal tropical cyclone activity at near-record levels," said William Gray, Colorado State University professor of atmospheric science.

[link to www.terradaily.com]