Storm-Driven Tides Swamp Atlantic Coastlands

High tides powered by a winter storm in the Atlantic smashed into beaches from Florida to the Carolinas on Thursday, toppling fishing piers and homes, washing out highways and beaching a freighter.

Some of North Carolina’s barrier islands were inundated, but there were no reports of injuries.

Damage estimates were incomplete. In South Carolina, however, where 10-foot tides were reported, the damage total ran into the millions of dollars, officials said.

It was the second such storm to hit the southeast coast within a month, but this time it came with unusually high tides--the result of a rare alignment of the sun, earth and moon.

Preparing for Floods

As the storm moved north, the National Weather Service canceled flood watches in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, but in Virginia and New Jersey officials predicted flooding and beach erosion.

The storm pushed the 300-ton Panamanian freighter Donna Nancy into a sea wall at the Coast Guard’s Miami Beach station Wednesday night, narrowly missing the Watson Island bridge.

Two tornadoes touched down in Belle Glade, Fla., injuring six people, knocking down power lines, overturning two mobile homes and damaging 16 others.

A Cessna 210 plane crashed near Jasper, Fla., during a heavy rainstorm Wednesday night, killing all six people aboard, police said Thursday.

Tiny Topsail Island, N.C., was inundated by the highest tides there in 18 years.

“There’s an awful lot of water everywhere,” said Frances Ricks, manager of the Sea Vista Hotel at Topsail Beach. “The entire Topsail Island is covered with water.”

Ferry Runs Canceled

North Carolina officials canceled some ferry runs and residents piled sandbags and made other preparations against any further flooding.

Carolina Beach Police Chief H. G. Grohman said a pier on the north end of the island washed up and broke in two. The high tides flooded the police station, which was abandoned.

“There were about 50 homes damaged along Canal Street and along Oceanfront Street,” he said.

At Myrtle Beach, S.C., emergency preparedness officials predicted damage from the coastal flooding would exceed the $3 million caused by a similar storm last month.