Tourists evacuated under hurricane Earl threat

Thousands of tourists visiting the holiday island of North Carolina are fleeing on ferries bound for the mainland as hurricane Earl threatens to sidesweep the east coast of the USA. The evacuation order was given yesterday, prompting a huge line of cars waiting to board the only transport off Ocracoke Island – a two-and-a-half hour ferry trip.

While the island’s 800 permanent residents do not have to heed the order if they don’t wish, emergency services director Lindsey Mooney said she hoped they would follow the holidaymakers. Hyde County commissioner Kenneth Collie also said he could not remember the last time that a mandatory evacuation order had been issued on the island.

The storm’s category was weaken to 3 yesterday as it swung across the Caribbean, blasting it with winds of 125 mph. More evacuations could follow along the eastern seaboard, according to reports, depending on the path of the hurricane.

Earl is expected to turn north and run along the east coast, bringing strong winds and heavy rain to the Outer Banks of North Carolina during the tail end of this week. After that, forecasters predict that it could hit Cape Cod, the Maine shoreline and Massachusetts after heading north.

It is still too early to tell, however, how far the hurricane will come into land. According to the National Hurricane Centre, the storm is the most powerful to hit the east coast of American since hurricane Bob in 1991. Emergency personnel are being summoned by the state of Virginia in case Earl hits.