Hanna Deals Relatively Soft Blow To Carolinas

RALEIGH, N.C., Sept. 6 -- Tropical Storm Hanna hit southeastern United States with whipping winds and rain Saturday but did not linger long enough to cause more than isolated flooding and power outages.

"Right now, we're just keeping an eye on things and making sure we stay ahead of the eight ball," said Moore County, N.C., Public Safety Director Carlton Cole. "It's nowhere near as bad as it could have been."

Heavy rain fell in the Carolinas, including five inches in Fayetteville and the Sandhills region. The same was forecast for southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New York and New England, where some spots could get as much as 10 inches. Hanna should reach New England by Sunday morning, meteorologists said.

At least 2,000 people spent the night in shelters, and almost 100,000 utility customers along the East Coast had no power midday Saturday.

There were no reports of deaths or injuries in the United States attributable to Hanna, which was blamed in Haiti for disastrous flooding and more than 100 deaths.

Along the Eastern Seaboard, folks quickly moved Saturday to reclaim the weekend from the storm.

"It looks like it's going to be a great weekend on the Grand Strand," said South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R).

On North Carolina's Outer Banks, the stinging sand and sea spray didn't keep 78-year-old William Cusick from getting up early to walk his dog on the beach.

"I don't see anything too exciting about this -- it's not too serious," Cusick said.

But as the storm cleared out of the Southeast, eyes turned to the open Atlantic and the nasty-looking Hurricane Ike -- a Category 4 storm with 135 mph winds that was expected to strengthen as it approached southern Florida by Monday.