MOORESVILLE, N.C. (AP) -- An elderly North Carolina man standing in his yard was killed when a pine tree was snapped off by strong winds and fell on him, the first known storm-related death in the state.

Mooresville Fire Department Assistant Chief Curt Deaton said the unidentified man was standing near his car Wednesday afternoon when the dead tree broke and hit him around 2:44 p.m.

Deaton said it wasn't clear what the man was doing in his yard when he was struck.

Mooresville is about 30 miles north of Charlotte.

For the second straight day, eastern North Carolina was drenched by heavy rains and whipped by high winds which were strong throughout the state.

Near Cape Lookout, two people on a disabled sailboat off the North Carolina coast were rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter crew, while two others were being towed to shore with the boat.

The Coast Guard said its office in Norfolk, Va., received a call at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday indicating that a 52-foot sailboat called the Wing Song II was in distress. The sailboat crew reported that their vessel had suffered damage to the mast and rudder.

A helicopter crew hoisted two people from the boat about 10 hours later, while the other two stayed with the boat as it was towed to Fort Macon. The two hoisted from the boat were taken to Elizabeth City, where the sailboat's owner met them.

The boat was located about 110 miles southeast of Cape Lookout. Weather reports from a nearby buoy showed rough seas and winds gusting above 30 mph from the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida at the time of the rescue.

A portion of N.C. 12, the two-lane highway on North Carolina's Outer Banks, was closed temporarily on Hatteras Island because of ocean overwash, and officials said it would be closed intermittently.

In addition, state officials said stormy weather led the N.C. Ferry Division to suspend its Cherry Branch-Minnesott Beach and Currituck routes.

Thousands of residents lost electrical service. Duke Energy reported more than 11,000 customers lost service in the Charlotte area, though much of the service had been restored by late Thursday morning.

Progress Energy reported only scattered outages in the eastern part of the state.

The National Weather Service said Thursday morning that rainfall in the previous 24 hours ranged from less than an inch in Charlotte to nearly 6 inches in New Bern.

Some roads were closed across the state by flooding and downed trees. Schools in several districts in the Wilmington area opened later than usual.

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