Jack Borinski, of Richmond, Va., videotapes the damage caused by Hurricane Ophelia in Salter Path, N.C., Thursday, Sept. 15, 2005. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

The damage is worse because the damn storm just keeps spinning and not moving. We were thinking of spending Christmas out at Emerald Isle, but I don’t know what kind of damage is down that way, but it was hit hard. Beaufort is a beautiful, historic town and it’s a flooded mess. (AP):

As Ophelia’s eyewall scraped slowly ashore Wednesday night near Morehead City, Carteret County authorities reported widespread coastal flooding and uprooted trees.

“It’s a mess,” said Jack Veit, assistant county manager. “We’re hoping it’s out by morning. That’s a long time. That’s one of our concerns. It’s just going to saturate the ground.”

Streets in Morehead City and in historic Beaufort nearby were flooded and thousands were without power. Authorities were investigating a report that a fishing pier went out to sea on Emerald Isle.

“This is not that bad of a storm if it got in and got out,” said Mark Powell, making his fifth trip of the day into a horizontal rain to secure fishing boats straining at moorings in Carolina Beach. “It’s the longevity that’s killing us.” Alongside him was Rocky Stone, sampling his first hurricane after moving to the coast six months ago from High Point. “If this is a Category 1,” he said, “I don’t want to see a 3 or a 4.”

More than 81,000 are without power.