Mian Shakeel Aslam -- Mandatory evacuation orders for parts of North Carolina's Outer Banks will take effect Thursday morning as state emergency officials prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Irene, now battering the Bahamas with sustained winds of 115 mph.
Starting at 8 a.m., tourists will be required to exit Dare County, North Carolina -- home to Manteo, Nags Head, Duck and Kitty Hawk. Residents can stay for now, but they were advised to gear up for Irene.
The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse closed Wednesday evening. Other venues, including the Wright Brothers National Memorial visitors center, also were shuttered.
With Irene still more than 700 miles from Cape Hatteras, the National Hurricane Center warned that tropical storm and hurricane watches would likely be posted for Coastal Carolina early Thursday.
Hyde County, also in the Outer Banks, took a similar approach, ordering a mandatory evacuation for all visitors and a voluntary evacuation for residents on Wednesday. The mandatory evacuation will be extending to residents beginning 5 a.m. Thursday, Hyde County Emergency Services said.
Ocracoke is reachable only by boat or private plane.
Irene pounded the central Bahamas early Thursday, whipping the island chain with gusts of up to 150 mph, a Hurricane Center advisory said
Heavy damage was reported in the southeastern Bahamas. Electricity was out in some locations.
"Homes losing their rooftops, churches being destroyed," said Capt. Stephen Russell, the nation's emergency management director. "One or two of the settlements some 90 percent of the homes destroyed."
There were no initial reports of casualties, he said. Final damage reports will not be available until after sunrise Thursday.
About 65 percent of the country's population is on New Providence, home to Nassau. Projections showed the island being outside of hurricane-force winds, Russell said. "We hope the system makes a gradual turn to the northeast."
Rainfall of 6 to 12 inches was expected in the Bahamas, with 15 inches possible in some places, the Miami-based Hurricane Center said.
In its 2 a.m. ET advisory, Irene had weakened slightly, dropping from 120 mph to 115 mph. Despite the drop in windspeed, the storm is expected to strengthen to a Category 4 storm Thursday with winds in excess of 131 mph.
Posted By: Mian Shakeel Aslam
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