Airports, banks and several government buildings closed across North Carolina as the state tried to cope with the aftereffects of apparent terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center complex and the Pentagon.
All state law enforcement agencies, the National Guard and the Air National Guard moved to alert status, all federal military bases in the state went to the highest levels of security and the State Emergency Response Team--which usually responds to natural disasters--was on partial alert.
Gov. Mike Easley encouraged North Carolinians to stay calm, saying the state had received no threats.
"If there is reason for concern, we will let people know," he said.
Across the state, people reacted to the attacks with emotions ranging from disbelief to sadness. "This is a tragedy that has shaken all Americans to our very soul," state Attorney General Roy Cooper said.
Raleigh-Durham International Airport halted all outgoing flights at 9:49 a.m. Tuesday under orders from the Federal Aviation Administration, which shut down air traffic nationwide. "All we could do was take all incoming flights," said Mirinda Kossoff, communications manager. Between 25 and 30 flights to other destinations were diverted to RDU.
Police helped evacuate passengers and nonessential workers from the airport. Kossoff said RDU was taking "unprecedented" security precautions.
"We are on
Several passengers were stranded at the airport. Simeon Hellerman, a California resident, said he was stuck without money, friends or a place to go. He summed up his situation in one word: "Bad."
Kossoff said the airport was shuttling passengers to local hotels and would provide additional shelters if necessary.
Easley said North Carolina may be called upon to help, since this month the state heads the Emergency Management Assistance Compact--a group that includes several states and territories.
If New York or Washington, D.C. call upon to the compact for help, North Carolina will be in charge of organizing relief efforts. "We expect they'll ask for help, but we don't know yet what kind," Easley said. "We stand ready to coordinate and to help as a state."
Lt. Heather Kekic, a spokesperson for Seymour Johnson Air Force Base near Goldsboro, N.C., said she did not know if any attacks might hit North Carolina.
"That's why we're going to a heightened security level, look around, report suspicious activity," Kekic said. "As far as anticipating anything, no."
Federal buildings were also on a high state of alert, said Dave Griffith, chief deputy U.S. marshal for the central district of North Carolina.
"We are dealing with something that none of us have ever dealt with," he said. "In my opinion, it's an act of war; it's just horrible."
Tom Ditt, information officer for North Carolina Emergency Management, said security had been increased at several state buildings, though he could not specify extra precautions for security reasons.
All Durham County buildings except the old courthouse closed at noon Tuesday, although City Hall remained open. City police, fire and emergency response personnel went on standby alert status.
"It's categorically not business as usual because it can't be for anybody in America today," Mayor Nick Tennyson said. "But we also need to keep carrying out the operations we provide, and we will--with the awareness that tragic events have and can happen."
A spokesperson for a Durham branch of Wachovia Bank said several branches closed at the request of the Federal Reserve Bank, which is also closed.
Elizabeth Dole, Woman's College '58, had scheduled a 1 p.m. news conference at which she was expected to announce her entry into the U.S. Senate race. But in the wake of the attacks, she postponed the conference indefinitely.
James Herriott, Dave Ingram, Meg Lawson, Ellen Mielke, Thad Parsons and Rebecca Sun contributed to this story.
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