The Duke University Marine Laboratory will remain closed until at least noon Friday in the wake of Hurricane Ophelia.
Michael Orbach, director of the marine lab, said the facility in Beaufort, N.C., sustained minimal damages in the storm and should reopen this weekend. He said he will re-evaluate the situation Friday at 9 a.m., and that the opening will depend on the availability of power.
"We came through the storm pretty well," Orbach said. "Just a couple of leaks here and there because of the wind and the rain. There were no major damages."
After marine lab officials issued a mandatory evacuation for 5 p.m. Tuesday, 13 of the 21 students enrolled at the facility this semester came to Duke's main campus. Other students found shelter with friends and families around the Beaufort area. Classes were projected to resume Friday morning.
The students were initially warned last weekend of the possibility of an evacuation.
Although the marine lab remained unharmed, Orbach said the surrounding area suffered some flooding.
"There are probably eight to 10 sailboats between 20 and 45 feet up on the island across from us. The storm knocked them loose," Orbach said, adding that one of the boats ran into the laboratory's dock.
Orbach said the weekend activities at the marine lab are still running as scheduled, but any further delay of electrical power may severely jeopardize those plans.
Hurricane Ophelia whipped across the North and South Carolina coasts Thursday, causing some flooding and one death. The eye of the storm has yet to reach shore. The hurricane's winds never reached 96 mph to become a Category 2 storm, even though some officials worried about this development Wednesday.
According to the Hurricane Weather Center website, Hurricane Ophelia was moving east-northeast at three mph as of 5 p.m. Thursday. Ophelia is the 15th named storm and the seventh hurricane so far in this year's hurricane season.
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