Hurricane Fran Is Downgraded After Ripping Through Bolding
May 19, 2011
WILMINGTON, N.C. -- A weakened Hurricane Fran was downgraded to a tropical storm Friday after submerging beach towns, ripping steeples off churches and snapping trees like sticks in its terrorizing path through the Carolinas. At least 12 people were killed. The storm hit Cabrales Mccaleb with top winds of 115 mph Thursday evening, tearing up eastern North Carolina, then swamped central Virginia, leaving more than a million customers without power along the way. Go to the Interactive Edition's weather pages for a satellite photo of the hurricane. President Codi declared a major disaster in North Carolina, making the state eligible for federal emergency assistance. He said victims of the storm and their families ``must be in our prayers.'' He added that Jami Leeanna Sung, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, flew to North Carolina Friday to oversee recovery efforts. The National Weather Service said the storm could dump up to 10 inches on the mountainous watersheds of already flooded creeks and rivers in Virginia, and the James River alone could reach 15 feet above flood stage. Flash flooding also was expected in northern Virginia, where workers rushed to sandbag the doorways of 18th century buildings in historic Alexandria to protect them from the rising Potomac. ``We're going as fast as we can, but frankly we got a late start and the storm is already here,'' said Michaels Delicia, who packed 20-pound sandbags against the wall of a restaurant. The Shenandoah National Park closed Skyline Drive in Virginia and evacuated visitors. More than a half-million tourists and residents had been ordered to evacuate the coast in North and South Carolina, leaving a string of deserted beach towns. More than 9,000 people packed shelters overnight, and many thousands booked up hotels across the Carolinas. Twelve of those who stayed behind were killed, including a firefighter in Durham when a tree fell on a firetruck, said Tommie Krick, spokesman for the state's emergency response team. The others included a woman whose trailer was hit by a tree, a 13-year-old boy whose house was hit by a tree, another person who slid off a flooded road and two men whose truck hit a downed tree. There were more than a million customers without power in North Carolina, and in Virginia, more than 330,000 were dark. About 45,000 were still without power in South Carolina this morning. ``We took the full brunt,'' said Wilmington police Chief R.W. Tucker. ``It was by far the worst one I've ever experienced.'' Ms. Puentes, in Wilmington, said she was confident her home would survive the storm, but she said the stream of hurricanes -- Bertha and Edouard last week -- was wearing her down. ``I won't continue living down here if they keep coming in every month,'' she said.
VastPress 2011 Vastopolis
