Weakened storm sweeps north
from North Carolina’s Outer Banks, leaving behind a muddy trail of destruction. The storm’s worst damage in the US appeared to be on Ocracoke Island, which even in good weather is accessible only by boat or air and is popular with tourists for its undeveloped beaches. Longtime residents who waited out the storm described strong but manageable winds followed by a wall of water that flooded the first floors of many homes and forced some to await rescue from their attics.
‘‘We’re used to cleaning up dead limbs and trash that’s floating around,’’ said Ocracoke Island resident and business owner Philip Howard. ‘‘But now it’s everything: picnic tables, doors, lumber that’s been floating around.’’
Governor Roy Cooper said about 800 people had remained on the island to wait out Dorian . The storm made landfall on Saturday morning over the Outer Banks as a far weaker storm than the monster that devastated the Bahamas. Yet despite having been downgraded to a Category 1 storm, it still sent seawater surging into homes on Ocracoke, many for the first time in memory.
More than 1100 Bahamians arrived in Palm Beach, Florida, after being evacuated by cruise ship from their hurricanebattered islands.
The Grand Celebration cruise ship returned to its home port after setting sail on Friday for Freeport, Grand Bahama, to deliver more than 100 tonnes of supplies and ferry dozens of health workers and emergency crews.
As it approached Canada, Dorian had maximum sustained winds of 160kmh, officials said.
Forecasters said the center of Dorian was expected to move across Nova Scotia, pass near or over Prince Edward Island, and then move to Newfoundland and Labrador today.
Canadian officials prepared for the possibility of flooding, washouts and storm surges, and Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said the military was mobilising to assist Nova Scotia.
Novia Scotia Power Inc. reported more than 300,000 customers were in the dark by 7pm local time, with power out in parts of Halifax, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. Karen Hutt, the utility’s chief executive, said Dorian is the largest weather event the company had ever responded to, and 1000 workers were ready to restore power once it’s safe.
Hurricanes in Canada are somewhat rare in part because once the storms reach colder Canadian waters, they lose their main source of energy. Canadian Hurricane Centre meteorologist Ian Hubbard said the last hurricanes to make landfall in Canada were Hurricane Igor and Hurricane Earl in September, 2010. –AP