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HURRICANE Noel, the deadliest Atlantic storm this year, was growing in size but not strength as it sped north yesterday off the southeast US coast after slamming the Caribbean.
Noel is not expected to gain force in the next 24 hours as it tracks north-northeast toward Nova Scotia. Portions of the East Coast could experience heavy rains, and Noel may continue to grow in size, forecasters said yesterday.
Noel's heavy rains triggered flooding and mudslides in the Caribbean, leaving 118 dead, officials said. After drenching the Bahamas and Cuba on Thursday, the Category 1 hurricane continued moved north of the Bahamas on yesterday morning.
Its sustained winds were at 80 mph (130 kph) early yesterday and its center was about 470 miles (750 kilometers) south of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, the US National Hurricane Center in Miami said. Noel is moving to the north-northeast at about 18 mph (29 kph).
Jack Beven, a hurricane specialist at the center, said yesterday that "we don't expect the center to cross the US coast. The track would take the center of the system over Nova Scotia."
But Beven also noted that the storm "is going to increase rather significantly in size" and that its effects could be felt in the US Forecasters say 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters) of rain could fall in North Carolina's Outer Banks, while isolated areas of New England might see 6 inches (15 centimeters).
On Thursday, muddy rain-swollen waters overflowed a dam in Cuba, washing into hundreds of homes, over highways and knocking out electricity and telephone service. Dozens of small communities were cut off.
Cuban soldiers went door-to-door in low-lying areas and evacuated about 24,000 people, according to state radio and television reports. At least 2,000 homes were damaged by flood waters, but there was no official word of deaths.
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