Dispatches from Dorian coverage: Ocracoke flooded, Hatteras battered, but other coastal areas returning to normal
Hurricane Dorian made landfall over Cape Hatteras on Friday morning, the National Hurricane Center said.
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- The Outer Banks are experiencing "catastrophic" flooding as Hurricane Dorian's winds create intense storm surge, the Hyde County Sheriff's Office said.
- Dorian made landfall over Cape Hatteras, the National Hurricane Center said. It's still a Category 1 storm, with sustained winds of 90 mph.
- More than 160,000 customers are without power in North Carolina, according to the state's Department of Public Safety.
No deaths have been reported in North Carolina since the hurricane started hitting the state, he said. Two men died preparing for the storm.
About 80 roads remains closed across the state, Secretary of Transportation Jim Trogdon said, including N.C. Highway 12 on the Outer Banks and U.S. Highway 264 near Belhaven, U.S. Highway 117 in Wilmington, U.S. Highway 70 near Beaufort and U.S. Highway 15 near Laurinburg.
Crews have started "cut-and-shove operations" to get downed trees out of roads, Trogdon said.
Coastal ferry service will resume Saturday morning, he said.
"Most buildings sustained little to no damage, university officials said in a Facebook post. "Although some residence hall rooms did sustain minor water intrusion in the form of damp/wet ceiling tiles or walls, conditions are nothing at all like they were post-Florence. To the best of our knowledge at this point, bearing in mind we have not yet completed residence hall inspections, there does not seem to be damage to students’ personal belongings in rooms."
Angela Mann, a local resident, called the loss of part of Avalon Pier "heart-wrenching."
"The locals have tried so hard to keep this pier together," Mann said. "We have built this berm since [Hurricane] Matthew came through, and we're proud that it stood, and we thought maybe the pier would be here."
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The North Carolina National Guard and the U.S. Coast Guard flew two Blackhawk helicopters to the island and had landed them in a baseball field there, where people were unloading boxes of supplies.
An all-glass house in town made it through Hurricane Dorian unscathed.
Bill McGonigal and his wife said they could feel the house shudder during wind gusts but otherwise had no problems.
"You could really tell when the gusts would come by, but with the steady wind, you didn't really notice it," said McGonigal, who owns a glass business and built the house in 2016. "I don't think it's different than staying in any other house – at least you can see it all."
Washing all of the salt and sand from the windows was the biggest headache from the storm, the McGonigals said.
About 450 people were in four shelters in the area, but officials have already closed two of those shelters as people leave. Dozens of roads were closed overnight, primarily because of downed trees, but officials said crews had reopened most major thoroughfares.
"It's horrific. These people have gone through one hell of an ordeal," said Terry McClendon, whose construction crew was helping residents. "It's not as bad as it could have been, but it's bad."
The weather wasn't clear enough to fly yet, though.
He called Hurricane Dorian "the new normal" since it was the third hurricane to hit North Carolina in three years.
One member said the team was taking lessons learned from Florence to ensure people on the island would be able to help coordinate further relief efforts.
The top of a hotel was ripped off, and pieces of metal had fallen off buildings.
An American flag was still flying in the wind, but pieces had been torn off by the winds.
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Winds were too strong for members to safely conduct rescue operations.
"We're eager to get out there," one member said.
As Hurricane Dorian's eye moves northeast away from the state, its western rain bands are drenching areas. Winds are pushing water from the sounds onto land.
Wrought-iron fences were torn apart and homes were extensively damaged.
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A woman told WRAL's Kathryn Brown that she was walking her dog when she heard what sounded like a tornado.
She rushed inside with her dog and slammed the door. She watched as her back porch was destroyed.
“It’s enough to move a person around and make it difficult to stand,” Owens said.
A weak spot in rocks separating the sound from land is allowing choppy waters into a neighborhood.
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The highway is closed from the village northward.
There are numerous reports of sand and water covering roads on Hatteras Island, the DOT said.
Dorian's eye is 50 miles past Cape Hatteras moving northeast at 17 mph.
“You could almost swear it’s the ocean," WRAL's Adam Owens said.
Gusts were pushing water from the sound onto land, flooding parts of the town.
“This exact kind of action is exactly what is causing so much trouble in Hyde County and in Ocracoke, the kind of force that is causing serious flooding, floating cars, causing a lot of damage and danger to people south of us,” Owens said.
“We are really not done with this storm,” he said.
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“When the eye came through, we got skies and the sun was out, and it got calm, of course,” Donny Bowers said. “Within 10 minutes, the water came up probably a couple feet, and we had a really bad band there from the western eye wall. The winds were much more intense on that side than it was on the other side.”
He said he's seen trees, debris and cable lines on the ground. Rain was falling sideways.
“The conditions are just so horrific out here right now," he said.
“We’re just trying to take care of people right now,” McNally said.
Video posted to social media showed an area of higher ground where many people park their cars during storms was flooded.
“If it’s flooded down there, that’s not good,” McNally said.
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He said officials were concerned about people stuck on Ocracoke Island as storm surges flooded the area.
Sidings from houses were on streets, and trees had fallen.
Some low areas had standing water.
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Some trees were down in Sunset Beach.
The water is "dangerously close" to houses, WRAL's Sloane Heffernan said.
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A resident said his neighborhood often floods in thunderstorms and said the standing water came from Dorian's rain.
He and his wife stayed in their home during the storm because they didn't have enough time to evacuate, he said.
The storm, the man said, was "noisy."
"A lot of wind, a lot of rain," he said.
“I’ve never seen the water like it has been," Scott McNally said. He's lived on the island for 25 years.
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He’s 6-foot-2, and the water is up to his neck, he said.
People in flooded areas should get to the highest level of their house or on their roofs if needed and should not go into floodwaters.
“We have been talking about how we’ve been mostly fortunate,” Owens said. “That has completely turned.”
As storm surge continued to rise on the side of the sounds, water entered homes and floated cars, the emergency management worker said.
There were discussions about using aircraft to try to rescue people, Owens said.
“You can hear in their voice their concern,” he said.
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Dorian's sustained winds reached 90 mph.
The eye had come on shore near Morehead City and Cape Lookout.
Waters were continuing to quickly rise at the back of Ocracoke Island and the North Carolina sounds.
Because the sounds at the North Carolina coast are a "very unusual topographical feature," Gardner said, they could get hit particularly hard from storm surge on both sides as Dorian moves northeast.
“It would be like this is a sink and you took your hand and you pushed the water, and of course it sloshed up over the edge of the sink,” Gardner said.
“This is the first time I feel like I’m really starting to feel this storm,” Owens said, explaining that he had felt a gradual increase of wind speeds before they became worse.
“Without it relenting in any way, we’re really starting to feel that wind become a constant hit,” he said.
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Gusts reached 70 mph at Cape Hatteras.
Sustained winds reached 69 mph at Ocracoke Island as the storm moved through, with gusts at 89 mph.
Dorian's bands were moving out of central North Carolina as the storm moved northeast.
“Our conditions are improving pretty rapidly this morning,” WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner said.
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Winds tore at the flag Thursday as Dorian moved in, and Neal said he'll replace it as soon as he can.
“They’re really getting slammed," WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner said.
While the center of the eye hadn't crossed over land, the hurricane could make landfall at Cape Hatteras.
“Cape Hatteras may stick out just far enough that the Hurricane Center calls it as landfall,” Gardner said. “It’s going to be awfully, awfully close.”
Storm surge was worsening along the coast as heavy winds were gusting.
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Farther inland, Goldsboro had seen gusts up to 53 mph, and the Triangle had seen gusts up to 43 mph.
Rain should move out of the Triangle by 10:30 a.m., and Dorian is expected to move off-shore by Friday evening.
Gardner recommended people give crews time to examine and clear damage before getting on the roads this morning.
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“We are feeling some serious hurricane-force gusts,” WRAL's Sloane Heffernan said.
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Officials have received a few reports of downed trees but no reports of flooding, the county manager told Heffernan.
Heffernan and photojournalist Greg Clark had to tie a light stand to their hotel building in Havelock to keep it from blowing away. Even with sand bags, the light had toppled over.
Coastal flooding was reported in Hyde County, and it's expected to worsen as the storm moves northeast at 14 mph.
The eye was pulling away from Cape Lookout, where it was "so close" to making landfall, WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner said.
She said the biggest damage in Wilmington is likely from tornadoes that struck.
There have been 14 reports of tornado damage since 5 a.m. Thursday, with three confirmed tornadoes in the WRAL viewing area.
Future tornadoes are most likely north of Dorian's center, Gardner said.
“Mother Nature wants to put on a good show for us,” Owens said.
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The winds, he said, was constant, but at times rain seemed to lift.
“That’s not the case anymore,” he said.
The ocean’s waves, he said, were approaching the dune line.
Landfall, in which the center of the eye moves over land, looks unlikely, WRAL meteorologist Aimee Wilmoth said.
“I don’t think we’re going to have a landfall at this point,” WRAL meteorologist Aimee Wilmoth said as the storm moves northeast at 14 mph.
"Where we live in New Bern is very susceptible to flooding, so they did a voluntary evacuation," Peterson said. "We have four dogs, four cats at home so we figured it was best to pack up and come some place safer."
— Cumberland, Harnett, Johnston, Sampson, Wayne, and Wilson counties until 3:30 a.m.
— Duplin and Lenoir counties until 6:30 a.m.
The latest flash flood watches:
— Bladen and Robeson counties until 8:00 a.m.
— Cumberland, Duplin, Edgecombe, Franklin, Halifax, Harnett, Hoke, Johnston, Lenoir, Nash, Sampson, Scotland, Wake, Wayne, and Wilson counties until 2:00 p.m. Friday
— Hertford and Northampton counties until 8:00 p.m. Friday
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Thomas also reported about 600 people without power.
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