The governor of North Carolina pleaded with the public to heed evacuation warnings as the seventh hurricane of the Atlantic storm season strengthened and moved slowly toward the southeastern state.

With its eye about 65 kilometers (40 miles) off the coast, the storm was already lashing it with winds of about 135 kilometers (85 miles) an hour, according to the US National Hurricane Center in Miami. Ophelia was expected to hit land late Wednesday.

"Some slight strengthening is still possible" before landfall occurs, the hurricane center warned.

Authorities said the winds had already torn down power lines, cutting electricity to an estimated 50,000 people in North Carolina.

Many inhabitants on the Outer Banks holiday islands off North Carolina headed for shelters on the mainland as powerful winds and torrential rain pounded their wooden homes.

North Carolina's governor Mike Easley said the slow pace of the hurricane made it increasingly threatening as it would hang over the coast for a longer time -- possibly two days.

With US authorities still reeling from criticism over the slow reaction to Katrina on August 29, Easley told the public: "If you have not heeded the warning before, let me be clear right now: Ophelia is a dangerous storm that is likely to cause flooding from storm surge in rivers and sounds."

He said there could be a storm surge of up to 3.3 metres (11 feet) and 25 centimetres (10 inches) of rain in a few hours as well as hurricane force winds.

Katrina threw up a storm surge of 7.6 metres (25 feet) in some places along the Gulf Coast on August 29. At least 650 people have already been confirmed dead in Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and Alabama and the final toll could run into the thousands.

US authorities say it will take years and tens of billions of dollars to rebuild Katrina's devastation.

Katrina was category four on the Saffir-Simpson scale when it made landfall, while Ophelia is at the moment just category one.

But Easley said the flooding from Ophelia would probably be worse than for other recent storms that have hit North Carolina.

"The important message that we want to try to get out to all of our citizens right now is if you have been asked to evacuate, please do so because these floods are going to be worse than anticipated yesterday," Easley told a press conference.

"Once the high winds come, we cannot get in and get you out. We cannot get there by boat or helicopter or by plane. There are 61 shelters open. There is no reason for someone not to evacuate if they have been asked to do so."

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had about 250 specialist workers in the state already, the governor said. The National Guard had also sent a force of about 50 troops to the areas considered most at risk.

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