RALEIGH, Sept 14: Hurricane Ophelia pelted the North Carolina coast with heavy rain and gusting wind on Wednesday in a slow-moving assault that was expected to last for two days and trigger widespread flooding.

Ophelia’s centre was 40 miles (64 km) southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina, at 2pm (1800 GMT). The core of the storm brushed the state’s southeastern coast on Wednesday and was expected to hit the Outer Banks, the chain of islands along its northern coast, on Thursday.

Schools, seaports, ferries and businesses were closed and scores of shelters opened along the North Carolina coast. Some 50,000 customers had lost electricity. Squalls pounded the coastline and kicked up battering waves that gnawed at beaches and washed over roads as Ophelia crept slowly along at about 7 mph (11 kph).

Ophelia had top sustained winds of 85 mph (136 kph) and could strengthen slightly, the forecasters said. Storms of Ophelia’s magnitude can flood coastal areas and fell trees and power lines but rarely cause structural damage.—Reuters