EMERGENCY officials began evacuating tourists and residents from low-lying islands off the North Carolina coast as Hurricane Bertha raked the eastern Bahamas and showed little sign of turning away from the US coastline.

Hurricane warnings were issued for Sebastian Inlet, on the coast of central Florida, through Cape Romain, South Carolina. A hurricane watch was also in effect north of Cape Romain to the North Carolina/Virgina border, including Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds. ``This is the nail-biting time for forecasters,'' said Hugh Willoughby of the National Hurricane Centre in Miami. ``We're waiting for Bertha to make her turn to the northeast but there's some uncertainty about when it will happen.''

An Air Force reconnaissance aircraft was sent into the storm on Wednesday morning to take new readings to help forecasters predict whether Bertha would still veer north and avoid a direct strike of the US coast.

At 11 am EDT (1500 GMT), Bertha's eye was located 70 miles east-southeast of Great Abaco in the Bahamas, or latitude 25.9 north and longitude 76.0 west, according to forecasters. Bertha was packing winds of 105 mph and moving northwest at 17 mph.

North Carolina officials ordered residents of Ocracoke and Hatteras, two barrier islands, to evacuate. If Bertha failed to change her path, the storm could slam into the Carolinas sometime late on Thursday, forecasters said. ``We've declared a state of emergency there,''said Tom Ditt of the North Carolina emergency operations. The islands are linked to the mainland only by a two-lane road. - Reuter