Hurricane Dorian moves closer to the NC coast as the state reports its first fatality
As Hurricane Dorian strengthened Wednesday and moved within 100 miles of the Carolinas, those on the coast continued with last-minute preparations.
Workers in coastal towns made moves to protect their properties, vacationers squeezed in a few final moments on the beach before abandoning their long-planned getaways, and a little further inland, North Carolina’s first storm-related fatality was reported in Columbus County.
Gov. Roy Cooper told reporters in a news conference Wednesday that an 85-year-old man fell from a ladder on Monday while helping his family prepare for the storm. He died from his injuries the same day. The man’s name was not immediately released.
‘If it’s coming, it’s coming’
In Otway, a Carteret County community near Harker’s Island, Chelsie Van Dyke was on her third day Wednesday of getting the Walker NAPA Auto Parts store ready for the storm.
Van Dyke and her two daughters, Briyanna and Miranda, looked like pros helping Van Dyke’s coworker, Ben Payne, hang 4-by-8-foot sheets of board across the windows of the store. The red neon “OPEN” sign still flashed in the window, and customers dropped in for last-minute supplies as Dorian inched closer.
As they worked, the National Weather Service sent out a hurricane warning for the region.
”It doesn’t matter how much preparation you do,” Van Dyke said. “If it’s coming, it’s coming.”
It’s coming for vacationers, too
Further north in Nags Head, roads were mostly empty — and the beach even emptier.
But just before noon, a few surfers waited for waves near Jennette’s Pier, most of which was destroyed in 2003 during Hurricane Isabel.
And about two miles south, near the Outer Banks Fishing Pier, Kevin and Christine Fox had arranged chairs and coolers in the middle of the beach to watch the waves crash in front of them. The Foxes had the beach to themselves — nobody within 200 yards.
Kevin Fox said this was supposed to be a week of vacation, until the threat of Dorian intervened. They received word of the order to evacuate on Tuesday but, Christine Fox said, “It’s not like the police come knocking on your door, asking you to leave.”
Fox said she was accustomed to hurricanes, having grown up in the Florida panhandle. And besides, she said, forecasters weren’t calling for Dorian to arrive near this part of the Outer Banks until Friday morning.
So, while they could, the Foxes took advantage of the empty beach. In the distance a red flag blew in the breeze warning people to stay out of the ocean. The Foxes said they planned to spend most of Wednesday on the beach before returning home to northern Virginia.
In all directions, there were few people to be seen. Boards covered the windows of some oceanfront homes. A little ways away, workers gathered on another pier to board up a restaurant. Even the aisles of the local Food Lion were mostly empty.
Across the street from the grocery store, boards covered the windows of one house, a message painted on the wood:
“Go Away Dorian.”
This story was originally published September 4, 2019 at 6:28 PM.
