BUXTON, N.C. (AP) - Hurricane Earl kicked up dangerous waves and
rip currents along the East Coast as it blew over open water Friday
toward Cape Cod after brushing North Carolina's Outer Banks,
leaving flooding but no injuries on the narrow vacation islands.
The weakened storm passed the Outer Banks before dawn, farther
offshore than had been feared but still knocking out power to
thousands and closing a road to a main bridge between the islands
and the mainland.
The storm remained very much a threat as it swirled up the
Eastern Seaboard toward Cape Cod. President Barack Obama declared a
state of emergency for Massachusetts to make it easier for the
government to provide disaster relief.
When Earl sideswiped North Carolina, its winds had dropped to
105 mph from 145 mph a day before. And at its closest approach, its
center passed about 85 miles east of Cape Hatteras - up to 50 miles
farther out than forecasters feared.
Hurricane-force winds, which start at 74 mph, apparently did not
reach the Outer Banks, the National Hurricane Center's chief
forecaster James Franklin said.
"We still think it will be a hurricane when it passes by Cape
Cod," Franklin said. Large swells from Earl will stir up dangerous
surf and rip currents along the East Coast, even from far out at
sea, the center said.
FEMA prepared for the worst, stocking water and prepared meals
in staging areas near the North Carolina and Massachusetts coasts.
Supplies included 400,000 liters of water and 300,000 meals shipped
to Fort Bragg, N.C., and 162,000 liters of water and more than
213,000 meals stored in Westover, Mass.
On the Outer Banks, 1 to 2 feet of water covered roads in the
community of Buxton on Cape Hatteras, pushing around plywood, a
convenience store ice cooler, a garbage bin and other debris. A
Jeep driving down the road had water up to its headlights. Carol
Dillon said her home in Hatteras was surrounded by water and her
daughter lost two cars in a flooded garage.
Thousands of people on the coast lost electricity.
North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue said there was no serious
damage and urged people to get back out for the Labor Day weekend
to "have a little fun and spend some money."
"Swiping the coast was always better than coming ashore," said
Mark Van Sciver of the North Carolina Emergency Operations Center.
"We're very grateful that the brunt of the storm passed us by."
North Carolina authorities sent teams out at daybreak to assess
the damage. Some 35,000 visitors and residents on the Outer Banks
been urged to leave the dangerously exposed islands at the storm
closed in, but hundreds of hardy souls chose to wait it out in
their boarded-up homes.
Nancy Scarborough of Hatteras said she had about a foot of water
underneath her home, which is on stilts. "Once it goes down, it
shouldn't take long to get things back together," she said.
As of 8 a.m. EDT, Earl was about 130 miles northeast of Cape
Hatteras, moving northeast at 18 mph.
Forecasters said it would stay 100 to 200 miles off New Jersey
and New York's Long Island but pass very close to Cape Cod and
Nantucket Island, Mass., late Friday as a Category 2 hurricane.
The storm could have a punishing effect even from a distance:
Earl's hurricane-force winds extended 70 miles from its center, and
tropical storm-force winds of at least 39 mph radiated out 205
miles.
At mid-morning, Earl buffeted Virginia with rain and gusts up to
45 mph as it passed farther out to sea. Officials in the Maryland
beach resort of Ocean City advised people to secure trash cans,
lawn furniture and other loose objects. One hotel took the tops off
the fake palm trees around its swimming pool. The city of Rehoboth
Beach, Del., removed lifeguard stands from the beach.
In Maine, two cruise ships made for the shelter of Portland
harbor up to a day early.
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick urged people living in
low-lying areas prone to flooding to consider leaving their homes
by the afternoon, though no evacuations had been announced outside
of North Carolina. Officials on Nantucket Island planned to set up
a shelter at a high school on Friday.
"We're asking everyone: Don't panic," Patrick said. "We have
prepared well, we are coordinated well, and I'm confident that
we've done everything that we can."
Forecasters said much of New England should expect strong, gusty
winds much like a nor'easter, along with fallen trees and downed
power lines.
In New York City, officials were on alert but said they expected
to see only side effects of the storm - mostly rain and high winds,
with possible soil erosion on the beaches and flooding along the
ocean-side coasts of Brooklyn and Queens.
During its march up the Atlantic, Earl could snarl holiday
weekend plans, with several flights already canceled and Amtrak
service suspended in places.
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Associated Press Writers Christine Armario in Miami; Jessica
Gresko in Rehoboth Beach, Del.; Randall Chase in Ocean City, Md.;
Martha Waggoner, Emery Dalesio, Tom Foreman Jr. and Gary Robertson
in Raleigh, N.C.; Tom Breen in Morehead City, N.C.; Bruce Smith in
Jacksonville, N.C.; Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, S.C.; Mark Pratt
in Boston; David Porter in Trenton, N.J.; Sara Kugler Frazier in
New York; and Frank Eltman in Stony Brook, N.Y., contributed to
this report.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)