BERTHA WEAKENS, SPAWNS TORNADOES.Byline: Paul Nowell Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. After battering the Carolina Coast, the weakened remnants of Hurricane Bertha moved north Saturday, spawning tornadoes and dumping rain from Maryland to Massachusetts. A tornado ripped open a mobile home near Edwardsville, Va., flinging Chanta Adams and her two small sons into the woods about 50 feet away. ``I was praying to God, `Please, just let us drop down, get us back on the ground,' '' said Adams, 22, who clung to her mattress along with her 1-year-old son, Javante Davis, during the frightful flight. The twister, which destroyed two other mobile homes and damaged seven, tore Adams' 2-year-old son, Trevaughn Davis, away from her and threw him in another direction. He was treated at a hospital for a broken collar bone, cuts and bruises. Another tornado near Smithfield, Va., destroyed trees but did little damage to homes along a half-mile path Friday night. Other tornadoes were sighted in Maryland, but no significant damage or injuries were reported. In New England New England, name applied to the region comprising six states of the NE United States—Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The region is thought to have been so named by Capt. , heavy rains began early Saturday and flood watches were in effect throughout the region. Tens of thousands were left without power. By afternoon Saturday, some areas were reporting more than 4 inches of rain. Tides were running from 1 to 3 feet above normal, and forecasters were predicting swells up to 15 feet. In New Jersey, high waves and forecasts of riptides caused officials to ban swimming at many beaches. A 41-year-old man died Friday after being pulled from the rough surf. A 56-year-old man was rescued from the turbulent waters Saturday and taken to a hospital, where he was in stable condition, a nursing supervisor said. Firefighters rescued another New Jersey man Saturday after he was pulled out to sea while attempting to secure his boat. Bertha's eye, with top winds up to 115 mph, had cut right across a narrow sliver of sand and beachfront beach·front n. A strip of land facing or running along a beach. adj. Situated along or having direct access to a beach: beachfront hotels; beachfront property. Noun 1. condos Friday at Surf City Surf City may refer to:
``At the height of the storm, they wanted off. So my men tried to get them out,'' said Police Chief D.H. Jones. Police got most of the 100 to safety, plucking them out of collapsing houses and marooned cars and taking them across a narrow bridge to the mainland. The effort left all five of the town's police cars disabled with flat tires. Nobody was killed. Jones said he doubts any of the people they rescued would try to ride out another storm. ``For a little town like this, we were totally devastated dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. ,'' he said. Bertha raked North Carolina's barrier islands, then weakened as it moved north into Virginia. By Saturday evening, Bertha was still a tropical storm tropical storm n. A cyclonic storm having winds ranging from approximately 48 to 121 kilometers (30 to 75 miles) per hour. tropical storm , with sustained winds blowing at 50 mph, centered about 35 miles south-southwest of New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. . Forecasters expected Bertha to weaken further during the night or today. Most of the evacuation orders that forced about 250,000 people onto safer land in North Carolina North Carolina, state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N). Facts and Figures Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. were lifted Saturday, a beautiful sunny day, although only residents were being allowed into some beach towns where there had been widespread damage or power outages. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (1) Todd Nichols and Missy Rich walk down a stree t strewn strew tr.v. strewed, strewn or strewed, strew·ing, strews 1. To spread here and there; scatter: strewing flowers down the aisle. 2. with debris Saturday, a day after Hurricane Bertha battered Surf City, N.C. (2) A New Yorker leaps over a puddle Saturday in Times Square, where a weakened Bertha spawned rain. Associated Press |
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