5,000 flee North Carolina island ahead of Hurricane Earl

Thousands of tourists are evacuating North Carolina’s Ocracoke Island.

Travel Insurance News - 02/09/2010

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Authorities have warned some 5,000 tourists on Ocracoke Island in the US state of North Carolina to evacuate as hurricane Earl bears down on the USA’s east cost. Bringing winds of up to 140mph, Hurricane Earl is bearing down on the North Carolina coast. Tourists were forced to head for ferries to make the trip to the relative safety of the mainland from the low-lying holiday island that sits just off the North Carolina coast as the hurricane threatened to sideswipe the USA’s east coast. The ferry trip takes two-and-a-half hours.

Lindsey Mooney, emergency services directory, said officials were hoping the 800 people who live permanently on the island would join the tourist exodus, though they are not required to obey the order to leave. Kenneth Collie, the Hyde County commissioner, said he could not recall the last time a mandatory evacuation order had been issued for Ocracoke Island. Depending on the track taken by the storm, other areas along the coast could be forced to evacuate. Earl is the third-strongest hurricane to ever travel so far north along the US east coast. The storm watch has been extended to Canada.

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