A larger, stronger Hurricane Dorian pounded the Carolinas with strong winds, sideways rain and damaging tornadoes on its march north Thursday, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of people and flooding parts of downtown Charleston. At least four people have died on the U.S. mainland, bringing Dorian’s death toll to 34.
As the Category 2 hurricane continues north, the Outer Banks, a thin line of islands off the coast of North Carolina, could take a direct hit late Thursday or Friday. More than 69,000 customers have already lost power in North Carolina, and utility provider Electric Cooperatives warned more could lose power overnight as winds cause trees and branches to fall on power lines.
“We have a long night ahead of us. Everyone needs to stay in a safe place and off the roads until the storm passes,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said.
Earlier, Cooper warned residents of his state to “get to safety and stay there.”
“This won’t be a brush-by,” he said. “Whether it comes ashore or not, the eye of the storm will be close enough to cause extensive damage in North Carolina.”
At 8 p.m. local time Thursday, Dorian was about 30 miles south of Cape Fear, North Carolina, near the state’s border with South Carolina, the National Hurricane Center said. The storm had maximum sustained winds of about 100 mph, and was moving northeast at about 10 mph.
As Dorian closed in on the Eastern Seaboard, Navy ships were ordered to ride out the storm at sea, and military aircraft were moved inland. More than 700 airline flights scheduled for Thursday and Friday were canceled.
The storm could bring as much as 15 inches of rain for the coastal Carolinas, making flash-flooding almost certain.
Dorian teetered between Category 2- and Category 3-level storms as it swept past Florida at a relatively safe distance offshore and grazed Georgia overnight, then delivered a more serious punch to the South Carolina-North Carolina coastline. About 1 million people between the two states were warned to evacuate.
Shrieking 60 mph sustained winds were reported in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, around 10 p.m. Thursday as Dorian punished the coastline.
Earlier Thursday, Myrtle Beach Mayor Brenda Buthane declared a civil emergency as a precautionary measure, in case the city has to enact a curfew or take other measures if Dorian strengthens. Storm surge of several feet is predicted in some areas.
Some coastal residents in South Carolina were allowed to return to their homes by midday Thursday, but Gov. Henry McMaster said they shouldn’t be surprised to find water in their homes.
“You might have animals, snakes,” he said. “You don’t know what might be in there, so be very careful as you return.”
Four Fatalities In The Southeast
The four U.S. deaths — all involving men who died in falls or by electrocution while trimming trees and making other hurricane preparations — occurred in North Carolina and Florida.
Among those who died was 56-year-old Joseph Walden, who was knocked from a tree by a limb he had just cut from a tree outside his home in the Orlando, Florida, suburb of Ocoee. An elderly Florida man died in a hurricane center, and officials were trying to determine if he died from natural causes.
A third death in Florida on Sunday was also blamed on Hurricane Dorian when a 68-year-old man fell while putting up plywood, according to Brevard County Medical Examiner’s Office Manager Craig Engleson.
In North Carolina, an 85-year-old man died after falling from a ladder while preparing his home for the approaching storm, Gov. Roy Cooper said Wednesday.
The National Hurricane Center’s projection for the storm shows it passing near or over North Carolina’s Outer Banks Friday, then peel away from the shoreline. The storm has spawned watches and warnings as far north as Massachusetts, Delaware and even Canadian provinces along the Atlantic.
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Dorian toppled dozens of trees, flooded streets and brought down power lines in the historic port city of Charleston, South Carolina, which sits just a few feet above sea level and is prone to flooding under normal circumstances.
Dorian spun off tornadoes in the Carolinas, damaging several homes in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and overturning several mobile homes in the North Carolina beach town of Emerald Isle.
Tropical-storm and hurricane conditions are forecast for coastal North Carolina late Thursday.
Residents in Charleston and the entire South Carolina coast were warned to expect the worst to come, with water levels that could near 10 feet.
Maryland And Virginia Brace For Storm Surge
As Dorian churns northward, “confidence is high” that parts of southeastern Virginia could see life-threatening storm surge, heavy rain and strong winds beginning Thursday evening, the National Weather Service in Wakefield said.
Several areas are under evacuation orders, and Virginia Beach is under a tropical storm warning with winds of 40-50 mph, gusting to up to 60 mph, expected to be the norm.
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The tropical storm warning covers the area from the border with North Carolina to Chincoteague, Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point southward. A tropical storm watch means “tropical storm conditions are expected within the warning area within 36 hours,” according to the National Hurricane Center.
Though Dorian’s exact path is uncertain, Maryland residents are on high alert after the National Hurricane Center warned Thursday the lower Maryland Eastern Shore could see “significant impacts.”
The latest forecast puts Dorian on track to move into southeastern New England Friday night and Saturday morning, and the Canadian province of Nova Scotia later on Saturday.
Dorian is expected to skirt Massachusetts as it barrels northward, but Cape Cod and the Islands could see wind gusts of up to 60 mph, the strongest hitting Nantucket. Other parts of New England could see 2-4 inches of rain in a 12-hour span.
Bahamas Becomes ‘A Third World Country’
Still life-threatening and dangerous, Hurricane Dorian is a far cry from the powerhouse Category 5 storm slammed the Bahamas over Labor Day Weekend and left an apocalyptic scene behind. The official death toll there now stands at 30, and is almost certain to climb as recovery efforts continue. Property damage, not including infrastructure and autos, could reach $7 billion.
The economic toll extends beyond the physical damage in the worst natural disaster ever to hit the Bahamas.
“People will be out of jobs for months,” 67-year-old wood carver Gordon Higgs told The Associated Press.”They’ll be homeless, no food. Nothing. The Bahamas has become like a Third World country.”
Florida, Georgia Out Of Danger
Like Florida, Georgia was mostly spared by Dorian, though at one point more than 15,000 Georgians were without power in the extreme southeastern counties.
The 3,000 residents of Tybee Island, Georgia, had been evacuated, but the island managed to get through the storm without flooding.
“If the worst that comes out of this is people blame others for calling evacuations, then that’s wonderful,” Mayor Jason Buelterman said.
All evacuation orders had been lifted in Florida as of Thursday morning as Hurricane Dorian made its way up the coast to the Carolinas. The final weather alerts in Florida were lifted late Wednesday night as the governor of North Carolina warned his residents to brace for storm extensive damage.
The Associated Press contributed reporting.