Dorian Strengthens, Heads Toward Canada

Outer Banks assesses the damage
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Sep 7, 2019 1:45 PM CDT
Dorian Strengthens, Heads Toward Canada
Wood debris is left scattered across the Nags Head beach in the Outer Banks, N.C., as the sun sets, Friday.   (L. Todd Spencer/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)

Skies cleared and floodwaters receded Saturday from North Carolina's Outer Banks, leaving behind a muddy trail of destruction wrought by Hurricane Dorian, which still was expected to unleash powerful winds in New England and Nova Scotia. Dorian's worst damage in the US appeared to be on Ocracoke Island, which even in good weather is accessible only by boat or air and is popular with tourists for its undeveloped beaches. Longtime residents who hunkered down to wait out the storm described strong but manageable winds followed by a wall of water that flooded the first floors of many homes and forced some to await rescue from their attics, the AP reports. "We're used to cleaning up dead limbs and trash that's floating around," said Ocracoke Island resident Philip Howard.

The storm made landfall Friday morning over the Outer Banks as a far weaker storm than the monster that devastated the Bahamas. Despite having been downgraded to a Category 1 storm, it sent seawater surging over neighborhoods on Ocracoke. Meanwhile, more than 1,100 Bahamians arrived in Palm Beach, Florida, after being evacuated by cruise ship. As Dorian approached Canada, the storm was again picking up strength. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said the maximum sustained winds had increased to 100 mph, raising it to a Category 2 storm. Forecasters said the center of Dorian was expected to move across central or eastern Nova Scotia by early Saturday evening, pass near or over Prince Edward Island, then move to Newfoundland and Labrador on Sunday. Canadian officials prepared for flooding, washouts, and storm surges.

(More Hurricane Dorian stories.)

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