Coastal flooding a concern as storm moves up East Coast

[November 13, 2009]  ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) -- Remnants of Tropical Storm Ida are pounding the East Coast, flooding coastal areas in New Jersey after slamming the Carolinas and Virginia.

Strong winds and waves are causing severe beach erosion along the New Jersey shore. However, the rain has not been as heavy as first predicted and that could help ease the flooding.

Many streets are flooded in Cape May County, which was under a state of emergency. Although officials suggested voluntary evacuations of low-lying areas late Thursday, there's no immediate word of any mandatory evacuations.

The storm has been blamed for five deaths across three states. The Coast Guard halted the search for three missing New Jersey fishermen whose boat sank in rough seas Wednesday night.

Thousands of people are without power.

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THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE.
AP's earlier story is below.

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NORFOLK, Va. (AP) -- The powerful winds and torrents of rain that slammed Virginia and the Atlantic seaboard were expected to weaken Friday, though the storm was forecast to move up the coast and could threaten more states.

Ida's remnants included rain pushed by 70 mph wind gusts that caused flooding and closed schools and colleges in Virginia on Thursday. The weather was linked to at least five deaths across three states.

Although conditions along Virginia's coast were expected to improve, officials were keeping a close eye on high tide and storm surges. Strong winds with gusts of up to 45 mph were expected Friday morning along the lower Maryland shore.

The National Weather Service issued coastal storm warnings from Virginia through Delaware. Recreational boaters and commercial vessels were advised to remain in port because of strong winds and dangerous waters.

Dominion Power reported that more than 155,000 customers remained without electricity early Friday in Virginia and parts of North Carolina. All but about 10,000 of those customers were in southeast Virginia.

While Ida has packed a punch, officials are grateful it's no Isabel, which was much more potent and felled forests of trees along its path. The storm made a destructive run through Virginia in 2003, leaving nearly 2 million power customers in the dark, some for weeks, and leaving at least 25 dead.

"This is mainly a water event," said Bob Batcher, a spokesman for the city of Norfolk. "We have downed trees but not as bad as Isabel."

Ida's rains and winds were the work of late-season tropical storm, which quickly weakened once it made landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast on Tuesday. Still, it soaked a path from Alabama to Georgia.

Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine declared a state of emergency and officials urged people in some areas to stay home. A state of emergency was also in effect in Cape May County in New Jersey.

Thursday night, some hardy Norfolk residents went out into the stinging rain, leaning into gusting winds as they walked.

Glenn Goodman, 48, found a sports bar that appeared to be open, only to have a server lock up as he reached for the door. The city resident eats out each night, and this was his third or fourth stop.

"If you know what roads to take, it's not that bad. You just don't try to drive through big puddles," he said.

Three motorists died in weather-related crashes in central and eastern Virginia. In New York City, a 36-year-old surfer died after getting caught in pounding surf churned up by the storm. In North Carolina, an elderly man standing in his yard was killed when a pine tree was snapped off by strong winds and fell on him, the fire department said.

Meanwhile, Coast Guard officials suspended a search for three commercial fishermen whose boat sank in churning seas 20 miles off the coast of New Jersey. A spokeswoman says there are no plans to resume searching Friday morning, when conditions are expected to be even worse.

In North Carolina, thousands of residents lost power at some point during the deluge, flood warnings were posted from the mountains to the coast, and some roads were closed. Schools in several districts opened late.

In Delaware, power outages were reported and at least two inches of rain had fallen in parts of the state. Some low-lying areas were already flooded, and wind gusts were as high as 55 mph.

[Associated Press; By WAYNE PARRY]

Associated Press Writers Jack Jones in Columbia, S.C., Dorie Turner in Atlanta, Sue Lindsey in Roanoke, Va., Dena Potter, Michael Felberbaum and Zinie Chen Sampson in Richmond and Sarah Brumfield in Washington contributed to this story.

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