The State from Columbia, South Carolina • 5

rugs in 1 81381-69 WWW.THESTATE.COM THE STATE, COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2005 A5 HURRICANE OPHELIA 1 JEFF STATE Rainwater from Ophelia floods front yards of houses on 53rd Avenue in North Myrtle Beach Wednesday. Ophelia fails to rattle S.C. coast By LISA MICHALS Staff Writer MYRTLE BEACH Hurricane Ophelia's scrape against the northern South Carolina coast Tuesday night and Wednesday hardly fazed many who have battled far burlier storms. The edge of the Category 1 hurricane was merely a prolonged, pesky rain storm in places like Conway. At Conway High School one of two Horry County hurricane shelters that welcomed about 100 people new friends Katrell Marcell, Erin Tummons and Amir Devaunghun poked for worms in the school courtyard Wednesday morning in a final effort at entertainment during their interrupted family vacations.

Erin, 11, set free a frog she'd caught Sunday at Myrtle Beach State Park before her family headed to the shelter Monday afternoon. "My mom is scared of frogs," said Amir, 4. "That's why we let him go." Horry County officials had no fear of flooding similar to the kind that devastated the Wonderland mobile home park in Conway after Hurricane Floyd in 1999. The mobile homes were bought out and removed after Floyd. At nearby Cook's Mobile Home park, resident Valerie Doyle was oblivious to the persistent rain.

"I'm not too worried about if it floods," she said. "I have two boats and a trolling motor." Horry County officials reported some flash flooding and sporadic power outages, but nothing of significance, said Lisa Bourcier, county spokeswoman. The North Myrtle Beach and Little River areas received about 5 inches of rain, with another 2 to 4 inches anticipated before Ophelia's gentle persistence is spent, Bourcier said. In North Myrtle Beach's Cherry Grove Beach area, vacationers showed more stamina than the storm did. Handfuls of people wandered the beaches in flimsy ponchos that danced in pelting rain and gusting wind.

They picked at the smattering of seashells the storm washed up. Ophelia wasn't keeping one Pennsylvania tourist and his family off the beach, despite the rude awakening that Ophelia gave them. "We were in bed and the bed and the building were shaking this morning and the pictures on the wall were rattling," said Paul Casagranbe, who rented a Cherry Grove beach house for the week. Many coastal shops and restaurants blazed their neon "Open" signs, but not as many as in previous years, said Roberto Mayorga, owner of Scents Unlimited on U.S. 17 in Little River.

The havoc of Hurricane Katrina kept many shop owners at home, he said. "There's more awareness that anything can happen." But Katrina's devastation in Mississippi and Louisiana was the reason Shelly Early saw Ophelia's mere Category 1 punch as relatively innocuous. Early and fellow Calabash Nautical Gifts employees saw Katrina's aftermath firsthand. They recently returned from a trip to distribute a rental truck full of relief supplies in Mississippi. The owner of the store, located just across the South Carolina border in Calabash, N.C., paid for the supplies and the trip.

"After looking at what Katrina did, this is nothing," Early said. Living EVERY DAY ON PAGE B2 IN Here The A State OPHELIA on inches extreme Ophelia coastal is liable North to Carolina dump FROM PAGE A1 aren't expected to cause downstream flooding in South Carolina enough offshore of South Carolina because rivers have been running to minimize problems in Horry low. and Georgetown counties. The The Horry County Emergency center of the storm passed about Operations Center shut down 75 miles east of Myrtle Beach early about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Wednesday. County officials reported no maThe storm dumped 4.17 inches jor structural damage, but there of rain on Grand Strand Airport at was localized flooding, beach eroNorth Myrtle Beach from midnight sion and scattered, short-term through 4 p.m. Wednesday, and power outages. the highest wind gust reported at North Carolina, however, was the airport was 38 mph. not having an easy time with the Even the rainfall amounts of 15 slow-moving storm.

Officials in its not how much you spend, its how IN-STORE SALE STARTS TODAY! STOREWIDE HOME CLEARANCE EXTRA PRICES ALREADY EXTRA OFF DESIGNER BEDDING CLEARANCE Total savings of was 14.99-399:99, now 8.99-239.99 EXTRA OFF CHARTER CLUB BEDDING CLEARANCE Total savings of was 19.99-129.99, now 11.99-77.99 EXTRA 40" OFF BED ENSEMBLE CLEARANCE Total savings of Sets include comforters, bedskirt, sham(s), sheets p'case(s). Orig. was 39.99-299.99, now 23.99-179.99 EXTRA OFF DISCONTINUED BEDDING BASICS CLEARANCE Total savings of Down comforters, mattress pads pillows. was 19.99-129:99, now 11.99-77.99 EXTRA OFF FRAMES CLEARANCE Total savings of 4.95-69.99, was 2.99-48.99, now EXTRA OFF GLASSWARE FLATWARE CLEARANCE Total savings of was 5.50-99.97, now EXTRA OFF CHINA, CRYSTAL FLATWARE CLEARANCE Total savings of Orig." was 1.99-520.98, now 1.19-312.58 EXTRA OFF SILVER CLEARANCE Total savings of was 4.99-239.99, now 2.99-143.99 EXTRA OFF DECORATIVE HOUSEWARES CLEARANCE Total savings of was 1.50-62.50, now EXTRA OFF RUG CLEARANCE Example of savings: Total savings of was. $699, now 419.40 PLUS, EXTRA OFF SMALL ELECTRICS CLEARANCE Total savings of 19.99-$250, was 9.99-99.99, now 6.99-69.99.

several communities along the coast ordered residents to evacuate from flood-prone areas and islands. Sixty shelters were open around the state. More than 12 inches of rain had fallen on Oak Island at the mouth of the Cape Fear River, officials said. More than 77,000 homes and business were without power in eastern North Carolina, electric utilities said. On Ocean Isle Beach, south of Carolina Beach, heavy surf washed out a 50-foot section of beachfront road.

Craven County expected a 6- to 8-foot storm surge in the Har- much you save WAREHOUSE CLEARANCE SAVINGS VALUES lowe area near the Neuse River an area that flooded during Isabel in 2003. Following the criticism of its response to Hurricane Katrina, the Federal Emergency Management Agency had 250 workers on the ground a larger-than-usual contingent given Ophelia's size. FEMA also put a military officer, Coast Guard Rear Adm. Brian Peterman, in place to command any federal response the storm might require. Staff Writer Joey Holleman contributed to this report.

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