US: Mid-Atlantic coast under flood warnings as Ophelia weakens to post-tropical low and moves north

Tropical Storm Ophelia was downgraded to a post-tropical low on Saturday night but continued to pose a threat of coastal flooding and flash floods in the mid-Atlantic region, the US National Hurricane Centre said.

Residents in parts of coastal North Carolina and Virginia experienced flooding Saturday after the storm made landfall near a North Carolina barrier island, bringing rain, damaging winds and dangerous surges.

At 11 pm Saturday, the centre said Ophelia, reduced to a weak form of a tropical storm, was located about 30 miles (50 kilometres) south-southwest of Richmond,

Virginia, and about 85 miles (135 kilometres) southeast of Charlottesville, Virginia. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 kph) with higher gusts.

Coastal flood warnings and flood watches remained in effect for portions of the region, the centre said.

The centre of Ophelia is expected to turn toward the north-northeast and northeast, moving across eastern Virginia and the Delmarva Peninsula through Sunday, the center said.

Areas from Virginia to New Jersey are likely to receive 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 7.6 centimeters) of rain and up to 5 inches (12.7 centimetres) in some places, the centre said.

Some New Jersey shore communities, including Sea Isle City, had already experienced flooding Saturday.

Areas of southeastern New York and southern New England also could receive 1 to 3 inches of rain, while surf swells are expected to affect much of the East Coast through the weekend, the center said.

Philippe Papin, a hurricane specialist with the centre, said the primary risk of the storm system going forward will be the threat of floods from the rain.

There have been tropical storm-force winds observed, but those are starting to gradually subside as the system moves further inland, Papin said in an interview early Saturday.

However, there is a significant flooding rainfall threat for a large portion of eastern North Carolina into southern Virginia over the next 12 to 24 hours.

The storm came ashore near Emerald Isle, North Carolina, on Saturday morning with near-hurricane-strength winds of 70 mph (113 kph), but winds weakened as the system travelled north, the centre said.

Videos from social media showed riverfront communities in North Carolina such as New Bern, Belhaven and Washington experiencing significant flooding. The extent of the damage was not immediately clear.

Even before making landfall, Ophelia proved treacherous enough that five people, including three children 10 or younger, had to be rescued by the Coast Guard on Friday night.

They were aboard a 38-foot (12-metre) catamaran anchored in Lookout Bight in Cape Lookout, North Carolina, stuck in choppy water with strong winds.

Tens of thousands of North Carolina homes and businesses remained without electricity across several eastern counties as of Saturday afternoon, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks utility reports.

A Duke Energy map showed scattered power outages across much of eastern North Carolina, as winds toppled tree limbs and snagged power lines.

The winds tore down the big tent for a banquet planned for Saturday and several other tents were damaged or shredded.

Cannon Jr. hoped soggy, windy conditions would allow pirate reenactors to clash Sunday in Beaufort.

The governors of North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland each declared a state of emergency on Friday.