Hurricane Earl weakens but still poses problems

Gov. Beverly Perdue urged people to follow evacuation orders along the North Carolina coast as Hurricane Earl nears and assured citizens that the state was ready for whatever Earl delivers.

The storm "isn't something to mess around with," Perdue said. "It's a serious storm and we need to treat it as a serious storm," the governor said after a morning briefing with her team of emergency advisers and Federal Emergency Management officials. The governor has scheduled a news conference at 8 a.m. Friday.

As of 8 p.m., Earl had weakened to a strong a Category 2 hurricane, and its center was located 160 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras. The storm was moving north at 18 mph and had maximum sustained winds of 110 mph. The storm had weakened since this morning and further weakening is expected tonight and Friday.

Tropical storm force winds reached the North Carolina coast this afternoon, with hurricane winds of 75 mph or higher hitting the Outer Banks by tonight. The storm surge will raise water levels by 3 to 5 feet along the coast, causing flooding and erosion.

Perdue said the last ferry was to leave Ocracoke Island at lunchtime today.

This morning, Dare County officials issued a mandatory evacuation order for visitors throughout the county effective at 6 a.m. In addition, the town of Nags Head has issued a mandatory evacuation order for visitors and residents south of Whalebone Junction. All schools and courts in the county have been cancelled today and Friday.

Farther south, Carteret County ordered residents and visitors to leave the Bogue Banks barrier island early today. Schools were closed there today and Friday as well.

Hyde County began evacuating people from the Outer Banks islands Wednesday. Currituck County also ordered visitors to leave coastal areas.

President Barack Obama declared an emergency in North Carolina because of the approach of Hurricane Earl. The declaration allows North Carolina to gain federal support for emergency protective measures such as the use of the N.C. National Guard, state Highway Patrol, state Department of Transportation, opening shelters and providing other resources as needed. Resources, including bottled water and meals-ready-to-eat, are being moved to distribution sites.

FEMA head Craig Fugate said this morning that federal aid is available to supplement state and local response efforts in the state due to the emergency conditions resulting from the hurricane.

Attorney General Roy Cooper announced the state's price gouging law is in effect now that a state of emergency has been declared.

"We're warning price gougers that you can't use a storm as an excuse to make an unfair profit off of consumers," Cooper said in a statement.

While Perdue urged coastal residents to evacuate, she acknowledged that some residents are likely to decide to ride out the storm. She urged them to make sure they are prepared and have supplies in place.

"At the end of the day, it's like the old Girl Scout, Boy Scout motto, be prepared," Perdue said.