Thousands Evacuated as Hurricane Sweeps N. Carolina, Virginia Coasts

Hurricane Charley charged up the East Coast into Virginia waters Sunday night after sweeping across North Carolina’s fragile Outer Banks with 75-m.p.h. winds and torrential rains.

Residents of coastal Virginia secured property and evacuated low-lying areas, hours after thousands of people fleeing the North Carolina island chain jammed highways and ferries.

Gale warnings were posted as far north as Massachusetts as the weakly formed eye of the storm continued north. The highest wind gust was clocked at 104 m.p.h. at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, which connects Norfolk with Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

The storm Sunday night was 10 miles east of the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. It was moving north at 10 m.p.h. to 15 m.p.h., and was expected to stay on course.

Norfolk International Airport was closed as the storm approached, and traffic was heavy on outbound roads from the area. Virginia Power spokesman Fred Ellis said 75,000 customers lost power during the storm’s approach.

Hurricane warnings were posted from Virginia Beach, Va., to Sandy Hook, N.J., including Chesapeake Bay south of Windmill Point and Delaware Bay. A hurricane watch and gale warnings extended north to Chatham, Mass., including the New York metropolitan area.

All warnings were discontinued south of Virginia Beach.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami issued a statement Sunday night saying “the worst weather over northeast North Carolina had already occurred.”

Winds were still in the 30-m.p.h. to 40-m.p.h. range at the National Weather Service office in Buxton, and winds of 40 m.p.h. to 50 m.p.h. were reported over northern beaches. The storm dumped 2.47 inches of rain on Cape Hatteras.

Flooding was reported in Manteo, where water was standing two to three feet deep in some areas, and a foot deep inside the Manteo courthouse.

The causeway connecting Manteo with the Outer Banks also was flooded and reported impassable. Water was two to three feet deep on the north end of the Oregon Inlet Bridge, authorities said.