Irene Dumps Torrential Rain on Saturated North Carolina

Hurricane Irene drenched southeastern North Carolina with more than half a foot of rain before heading out to sea Sunday night, unleashing more flooding in a region still saturated by record flood waters from Hurricane Floyd.

As the storm turned east and its strongest winds moved away from land, the National Weather Service dropped hurricane warnings at 11 p.m. EDT. Tropical storm warnings remained in effect for most of the North Carolina coast.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said it appeared increasingly likely that Irene’s northeast track and its 75 mph winds might skirt the North Carolina coast without coming ashore.

“It’s moving more toward the east, but it could be very close to the Cape Lookout area in the early morning hours. That’s what it looks like,” said meteorologist Bill Frederick.

At 11 p.m. EDT, Irene was 85 miles southeast of Wilmington, moving northeast at 23 mph.

A flurry of beach town evacuations preceded the storm, North Carolina’s third hurricane in two months. Torrential rains in front of Irene’s core swamped dozens of roads, and National Guard troops were called out to sandbag against rising flood waters.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said there was a chance Irene and its 75-mph winds might skirt the North Carolina coast without coming ashore. But the greatest concern was rain, not wind, and the eastern coastal plain, inundated by Hurricane Floyd four weeks ago, was especially vulnerable to more flooding.

By late afternoon, up to 5 1/2 inches had fallen in parts of eastern North Carolina, with several more inches possible, said the National Weather Service.

State public safety Secretary Richard Moore said the worst flooding was expected in the Fayetteville area and along the Cape Fear River, expected to crest 20 feet above flood stage later this week.

The storm claimed its first victim in North Carolina on Sunday, a person killed in a three-vehicle traffic accident near Washington, the state Highway Patrol said. Irene earlier was blamed for seven deaths, five of them in Florida and two in Cuba.

A flash flood warning was issued for a 100-by-50-mile swath of eastern North Carolina straddling Interstate 95 between Fayetteville and Rocky Mount.