I have to agree with Bic D to some extent. It appears the weather services cried wolf once again. I get the fact that the initial direction of landfall is unpredictable. But once it turned southerly there was little chance it was going northerly again in a hurry. The high pressure dome to the north prevented that which is also the reason it has slowed to a crawl. The folks sitting under are going to flood badly, they always do here in NC. The clay soil is almost impermeable, when you combine that with the flat low terrain flooding is inevitable.
At my home in Chapel Hill we have had minimal rain and very little wind to speak of. Yet the media blew the whole issue into a disaster for just about the whole southeast like it was the end of the world. At first people were running all over buying gas, water and anything they could get their hands on. My wife and I did as well. So we have some more canned goods and water laying around and are counting our blessings. But for the folks in his area the tourist industry took a major hit due greatly to the media hype.
On an unrelated note; last night I went to the Brass Tap to hit some balls and hang out. Who strolls in but Mike Coltrain, he lives in Wilmington these days and came to Raleigh to avoid the mess. He shot some balls fooling around with some folks and I chatted with him for a while. He's actually trying to shoot left handed now due to his tremors in his right arm. The only place he has tremors is the right arm, truly an incomprehensible nightmare for such a talented guy. In our conversation he has totally accepted the situation and is quite philosophical about it. I was impressed with his demeanor just like I was when he was one of the best players in America. Great guy and thrilled I had the chance to chat with him.