Egyptian public, private sectors off on Apr 25 marking Sinai Liberation    Egypt's SCZONE welcomes Zhejiang Province delegation for trade talks    Beltone Venture Capital partners with Citadel International to manage $30m startup fund    S. Africa to use contingency reserves to tackle debt    Gaza health authorities urge action for cancer, chronic disease patients    Transport Minister discusses progress on supplying new railway carriages with Hungarian company    Egypt's local gold prices see minor rise on April 18th    Expired US license impacts Venezuela crude exports    Taiwan's TSMC profit ups in Q1    Yen Rises, dollar retreats as G7 eyes currency calm    Egypt, Bahrain vow joint action to end Gaza crisis    Egypt looks forward to mobilising sustainable finance for Africa's public health: Finance Minister    Egypt's Ministry of Health initiates 90 free medical convoys    Egypt, Serbia leaders vow to bolster ties, discuss Mideast, Ukraine crises    Singapore leads $5b initiative for Asian climate projects    Karim Gabr inaugurates 7th International Conference of BUE's Faculty of Media    EU pledges €3.5b for oceans, environment    Egypt forms supreme committee to revive historic Ahl Al-Bayt Trail    Debt swaps could unlock $100b for climate action    Acts of goodness: Transforming companies, people, communities    Eid in Egypt: A Journey through Time and Tradition    President Al-Sisi embarks on new term with pledge for prosperity, democratic evolution    Amal Al Ghad Magazine congratulates President Sisi on new office term    Tourism Minister inspects Grand Egyptian Museum, Giza Pyramids    Egypt's healthcare sector burgeoning with opportunities for investors – minister    Egypt starts construction of groundwater drinking water stations in South Sudan    Russians in Egypt vote in Presidential Election    Egyptian, Japanese Judo communities celebrate new coach at Tokyo's Embassy in Cairo    Uppingham Cairo and Rafa Nadal Academy Unite to Elevate Sports Education in Egypt with the Introduction of the "Rafa Nadal Tennis Program"    Egypt's powerhouse 'The Tank' Hamed Khallaf secures back-to-back gold at World Cup Weightlifting Championship"    Financial literacy becomes extremely important – EGX official    Euro area annual inflation up to 2.9% – Eurostat    Egypt builds 8 groundwater stations in S. Sudan    BYD، Brazil's Sigma Lithium JV likely    UNESCO celebrates World Arabic Language Day    Motaz Azaiza mural in Manchester tribute to Palestinian journalists    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Hurricane Arthur scythes through Outer Banks of North Carolina
Published in Ahram Online on 04 - 07 - 2014

The first hurricane of the Atlantic season has hit the North Carolina coast, a wet and windy spoiler of the July Fourth holiday for thousands of Americans as authorities ordered them to evacuate exposed areas.
Hurricane Arthur crossed the coast near Cape Lookout at the southern end of North Carolina's Outer Banks at 11:15 p.m. EDT (0315 GMT) on Thursday, with maximum sustained winds of 100 miles per hour (160 kph). This earned it Category 2 status on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
Moving northeast at 22 mph (35.6 kph), Arthur is the first hurricane to hit the United States since Superstorm Sandy devastated parts of New York and New Jersey in October 2012 and caused $70 billion in estimated damage.
"It (Arthur) is moving through very quickly. That's good news because the wind and the rain and the surge is not going to stay over eastern North Carolina for a long time," said Chris Landsea, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center.
"We're expecting the eye of the storm to move back over the Atlantic Ocean by morning," he said.
As of early Friday morning Arthur's eye was moving near mainland Dare County and northern Pamlico Sound with hurricane conditions spreading northward along the Outer Banks, according to the NHC.
More than 18,000 customers were without power near North Carolina's coast as Arthur rushed through early on Friday morning, according to utility Duke Energy.
However, Arthur remained a medium-sized storm with hurricane force winds extending outward only up to 40 miles (65 km) and lesser tropical storm-force winds 150 miles (240 km).
LITTLE RISK TO NORTHEASTERN U.S.
After scything through the Outer Banks, Arthur was expected to move northeastward over cooler water on Friday, diminishing in strength and posing little risk to the densely populated northeastern United States, forecasters said.
Tropical storm warnings would be in effect throughout Friday for eastern Massachusetts, including Nantucket. Arthur would be around western Nova Scotia in Canada early on Saturday.
The storm disrupted Independence Day festivities and fireworks for holiday beachgoers and others ordered off low-lying North Carolina barrier islands in its reaches.
Tourists and some residents packed ferries and crowded the only highway off Ocracoke and Hatteras islands, where voluntary and mandatory evacuations were in effect, though some people stayed behind to look after their homes.
North Carolina officials warned of life-threatening rip currents and a storm surge of up to 5 feet (1.5 meters) that could render the narrow 50-mile (80 km) Highway 12 connecting Hatteras Island to the mainland impassable.
Part of the highway was washed out by storm surge for two months after Superstorm Sandy, forcing people to use ferries to reach the mainland.
North Carolina was putting extra heavy equipment in place to remove sand and the overwash as soon as possible after Arthur passes. Hundreds of military and state police officials were deployed to help with storm preparation, safety and evacuation efforts.
Farther north, the beach resort of Ocean City, Maryland, and more than a dozen communities in New Hampshire and Connecticut put off their July Fourth fireworks display to Saturday
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/105428.aspx


Clic here to read the story from its source.