Isaias regains hurricane strength heading for Carolinas
NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Coastal residents secured patio furniture, ferry operators completed evacuations on the Outer Banks, and officials passed out sandbags and offered car space in elevated garages Monday as Isaias marched northward, forecast to hit the Carolinas as a minimal hurricane.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center warned oceanside home dwellers to brace for storm surge up to 5 feet and up to 8 inches of rain in spots, as Isaias moves up the coast. The Carolinas weren't the only states at risk.
“All those rains could produce flash flooding across portions of the eastern Carolina sand mid- Atlantic, and even in the northeast U.S .,” said Daniel Brown, senior hurricane specialist at the U.S. National Hurricane Center. A tropical storm warning extended all the way up to Maine, where flash flooding was possible in some areas on Wednesday.
Isaias was upgraded again from a tropical storm to a Category 1 hurricane at 8 p.m. EDT. The storm was centered about 60 miles south of Myrtle Beach.
Isaias killed two people in the Caribbean and roughed up the Bahamas but remained at sea as it brushed past Florida over the weekend, providing some welcome relief to emergency managers who had to accommodate mask-wearing evacuees in storm shelters. The center of Isaias remained well offshore as it passed Georgia' s coast on Monday.
President Donald Trump on Monday described Isaias as “very serious.”
“Storm surge and inland flooding are possible and everyone needs to remain vigilant until it passes,” Trump said.
Authorities in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, ordered swimmers out of the water to avoid rough surf and strong rip currents. By sun down, power began to flick er at beachfront hotels as Isaias crossed the last bit of warm water in its path as it headed for the U.S. mainland.
Still, in apart of the South Carolina and North Carolina coast that has been at least brushed by seven tropical storms or hurricanes since 2014, residents weren't panicking about this one.
“It's just going to be a lot of wind and high tide,” said Mike Fuller, who has lived along the coast for over a decade.
Shops and restaurants appeared quiet er than usual for a summertime Monday in North Myrtle Beach, but locals blamed C OVID -19 more than Is ai as. No businesses were boarding up t heir windows, although some moved outside furniture inside.
Wayne Stanley and his family came to the city over the weekend f rom Julian, North Carolina. He's never experienced a hurricane, but said he never considered canceling his family's weeklong vacation either.
“I was pretty scared to start off with,” Stanley said Monday. “Then we thought maybe it' s not going to be that bad.”
Officials in frequently flooded Charleston, South Carolina, handed out sandbags and opened parking garages so residents on the low-lying peninsula could stow their cars above ground.
The center of Is ai as passed about 50 miles offshore of Charleston on Monday evening. Forecasters warned earlier of possible major flooding, but the storm passed faster than expected and only about a dozen streets were flooded.
Farther up the coast into North Carolina, the hurricane center predicted storm surges of 3 to 5 feet when Isaias moves onshore.
North Carol i na Gov. Roy Cooper warned residents on Monday that the storm could be dangerous regardless of its strength. He urged those evacuating to turn to shelters as a last resort, citing coronavirus risks and the need to operate shelters at r educed capacity to allow for social distancing.
“Whether it's labeled a tropical storm or a hurricane, you should take this storm seriously, and make sure your family is ready,” Cooper said.