With Hurricane Katrina still fresh on the minds of local and state politicians, officials are taking every precaution to prepare the state for the newest storm: Hurricane Ophelia.
Gov. Mike Easley declared a state of emergency Saturday in preparation for the Category 1 storm. Easley has also activated the State Emergency Operations Center and the North Carolina National Guard in advance of the hurricane.
"I have activated emergency responders and officials at all levels of government to do all we can to keep people out of harm's way from Hurricane Ophelia," Easley said in a statement Sunday. "I urge citizens to take necessary precautions to keep their families safe. Stay tuned to local weather forecasts and heed the advice of local emergency officials."
Ophelia is expected to continue its northbound path Monday toward North Carolina's coast. Tropical storm-force winds will be felt on the coast as early as Tuesday morning and continue well into Wednesday.
"This storm is moving slowly, which means that we will feel its effects for a longer time," Easley said. "We can expect high winds and rainfall for 24 hours or more."
Forecasters have predicted that the storm could cause flooding into the Albemarle and Pamlico sounds. People who live in low-lying areas are being encouraged to move to higher ground. Forecasters are also warning that Ophelia may spawn tornados.
A mandatory evacuation of non-residents has already been ordered for Ocracoke Island in the Outer Banks.
Because the Duke Marine Lab in coastal Beaufort, N.C., is located close to the projected path of the hurricane, officials are making plans to keep students living there out of harm's way.
"If the storm does go on its currently predicted pathway, we may have to close the Marine Lab sometime on Tuesday, Michael Orbach, director of the marine lab, wrote in an e-mail to Beaufort students Sunday. "If this happens, the closure would likely be for only a day or two. In this event, provision will be made for our undergraduate students to have transportation to, and housing in Durham on the Duke campus, with meal cards, etc."
Over the weekend, reports came out saying Ophelia was headed for the Triangle, but the National Weather Service's National Hurricane Center is now predicting only a 10 to 19 percent chance that the center of the storm will come within 75 miles of the area.
Ophelia is the seventh hurricane in this year's Atlantic hurricane season.
The season starts June 1 and ends Nov. 30, with peak activity usually occurring toward the end of August through mid-September.
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