Hurricane Ophelia sat nearly stationary off the coast of the Carolinas yesterday, worrying coastal residents made wary by the destruction that Hurricane Katrina caused along the Gulf Coast.

The storm was more than 200 miles from land with sustained winds of nearly 75 mph, but it was piling up heavy surf that challenged surfers and pounded the beaches. A hurricane watch remained in effect from just north of Edisto Beach, S.C., to North Carolina's Cape Lookout, a stretch of more than 250 miles.

Warning of the possibility of coastal flooding, Gov. Mike Easley sent 200 National Guard soldiers to staging centers in eastern North Carolina and ordered a mandatory evacuation of tourists visiting fragile Ocracoke Island on the Outer Banks, reachable only by ferry. Residents of the island were allowed to stay.

By 8 p.m. EDT, Ophelia was centered 245 miles south of Charleston, S.C., and 255 miles south of Cape Hatteras, the National Hurricane Center said. It meandered slightly but essentially was stationary after following a wandering course since it became a tropical storm Wednesday off the coast of Florida.

Central City, Pa.

Soldier electrocuted helping motorist

A soldier home on leave from Iraq was electrocuted after stopping to help a motorist who hit a utility pole, state police said.

Army National Guard Sgt. Dale Martin Hardiman, 39, of Stonycreek Township, came into contact with downed electrical wires as he tried to help the car's driver early Saturday. Hardiman suffered a heart attack and died at a hospital, Somerset County Coroner Wallace Miller said.

Hardiman had been in Iraq since December and was home on a two-week leave, his parents said. He was due to return to Iraq tomorrow for a final 45-day stint, family members said.

The identity and condition of the motorist involved in the accident was not available.

Buffalo, N.Y.

Son, 15, charged in mother's slaying

Police charged a 15-year-old boy with second-degree murder in the death of his mother, whose body parts were found last month in a suitcase in a canal.

Angel Rosa was charged as an adult in the death of Madeline Irene, 46. Investigators said Rosa gave his mother pills and then strangled her.

Parts of Irene's body were first found Aug. 23 in a local channel. A missing-person report was not filed until Sept. 4, when Irene's ex-husband visited from Florida, police said.

Compiled from The Associated Press