Residents of coastal North Carolina made final emergency preparations yesterday against gale-force winds and flooding rains from Hurricane Irene, the third hurricane to target the state since August.
The storm, which left as many as 15 people dead in Cuba, the Bahamas and Florida, was expected to dump another four to eight inches of rain on parts of eastern North Carolina, just beginning to recover from widespread flooding caused last month by Hurricane Floyd, emergency officials said.
"We're looking at the storm to come in late this evening, with landfall around 10 p.m. [3 a.m. Irish time] in Brunswick County [south-east North Carolina]," said state emergency spokesman, Mr Tom Hegele. "Right now, though, the storm looks to be tracking a little more to the east, and that's good news for us."
At 11 a.m. EDT (4 p.m. Irish time), Irene was centred about 85 miles south of Charleston, South Carolina, the National Hurricane Centre in Miami reported.
A minimal hurricane, capable of damaging mobile homes and downing trees and power lines, the storm was moving north at about 10 m.p.h. and was expected to make a north-east turn and speed back out to sea overnight.
Hurricane-force winds of 75 m.p.h. were blowing east of the storm's centre, keeping the most damaging winds offshore as Irene raced along the Carolina coast. Once it moves inland, communities east of the storm's centre will bear the brunt of the hurricane's winds, forecasters warned.
On Ocracoke Island along North Carolina's Outer Banks, squarely in the storm's path, residents were taking those warnings in stride.
"What storm? I don't expect it to be a big deal. I'm just going to put on a life jacket and get in a hot tub and ride it out," said Mr John Ivey Wells (56), an Ocracoke native.
Tourists were ordered to evacuate the Cape Lookout and Cape Hatteras national seashore parks along the Outer Banks, a narrow strip of islands off the North Carolina coast. But there were no mandatory evacuation orders issued for Ocracoke Island, which is 25 miles offshore and accessible only by ferry.