Maria, again a hurricane, swirls over North Carolina beaches

WAVES, N.C. Maria regained strength and became a hurricane again Wednesday, pushing water over both sides of North Carolina’s Outer Banks and taking its time to slowly turn away from the U.S. Atlantic coast.

No injuries have been reported, but the surge of ocean water washed over eroded beaches, flooding properties and state Highway 12, the only road through the narrow barrier islands of Hatteras and Ocracoke.

No ferries were moving, cutting off access to Ocracoke, and with parts of the highway flooded even at low tide, any travel on Hatteras remains hazardous, Dare County Emergency Management Director Drew Pearson said in an email. He said the worst problems were on Hatteras Island, where more than 10,000 visitors left under an evacuation order, but hundreds of local residents were allowed to stay.

The National Hurricane Center said an Air Force Reserve reconnaissance aircraft measured Maria’s top sustained winds at near 120 kmh, with higher gusts. Its centre was about 290 kilometres off Cape Hatteras at 2 p.m. Wednesday.

While Maria’s most punishing hurricane-force winds remained offshore, tropical storm-force winds extended for as much as 370 kilometres from the centre, churning up the surf on both sides of the islands. The hurricane’s forward speed is just 9 kph, so the storm was lingering before swinging out to sea.