THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 17, 1995 TAG: 9508170563
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: JENNIFER CHRISTMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: Short : 46 lines
Hurricanes are nothing new to the Outer Banks, but a Dare County official warned Wednesday that Hurricane Felix may be a different kind of cat.
``The interesting thing about this storm in comparison to Hurricane Emily, which struck Hatteras Island two years ago, is the enormous size - about 200 miles in diameter,'' Hartig said. ``If it begins to move and stays on its present course . . . because of its size, this entire area will feel the effects.''
And, Hartig said, if the storm hits as planned, the effect could be devastating.
An estimated 100,000 to 125,000 people clogged U.S. Route 158 and U.S. Route 64/264 - the only routes out of the Outer Banks - as they accepted the county's mandatory evacuation Tuesday, Hartig said. Several motorists waited until Wednesday to heed the weather warnings.
All hotels within 100 miles of Rocky Mount reportedly were booked with people fleeing Felix.
But hundreds of strong-willed Outer Banks residents remained to ride out the storm.
``In our opinion, they made a big mistake by staying,'' Hartig said. ``If they wait any longer, it will be too late because they are not going to be able to leave. The conditions on the road will be so bad, it won't be possible.''
Aside from hazardous outdoor conditions, Hartig said power outages and disruption of water and telephone service are likely.
Other developments:
N.C. Route 12 from Pea Island south to Hatteras Village was closed.
North Carolina Power shut off the electricity to a few Kitty Hawk homes for fear the homes might topple into the ocean.
Cape Hatteras Water Association turned off water to customers in Hatteras Village because of soundside salt water flooding.
Peak soundside flooding of six to seven feet from Hatteras Inlet through Oregon Inlet is predicted around 8 a.m. today.
KEYWORDS: HURRICANE FELIX by CNB