JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Tropical Storm Hanna cruised north off the Florida coast Friday then moved ashore the Carolina beaches early Saturday, blowing hard and dumping rain but apparently causing little damage at the start of its speedy run north to New England.

For northeast Florida -- once believed to be in Hanna's sights -- the storm passed with only a few bands of showers, but some stiff breezes, but rought surf that closed beaches and had some oceanfront homeowners trying to save their property.

At noon Friday, sustained winds of 22 mph were reported at St. Augustine and 20 at St. Simons Island.

Nassau County closed its beaches Friday and lifeguards in Duval and St. Johns counties urged everyone to stay out of the water unless they were strong swimmers or surfers.

Nonetheless, some people found their own reasons to visit the beach on Friday.

"We're actually homeschooling and it's an opportunity for them to check out the environment and the weather," said Amanda Jones, a mother who was at the beach with her children. "They're curious and get to see this firsthand."

"It's obviously dangerous. When you go over the falls or something, you get held under for a while. You need to have some experience," said surfer Ian Gibson. "I'm not saying I'm an expert, but you at least need to know how to swim pretty good."

At least six oceanfront homeowners in Vilano Beach were sandbagging Friday to prevent the sea from eroding the foundations of their houses.

One beachfront has already been deemed unsafe. Another homeowner, Sean McMullin, has been using rocks and tarps to prevent his house from falling into the sea.

"I had to stay out here at high tide and try to protect the corner," McMullin said. "Sometimes the water is up to my waist, but I've got to try and save my house."

Hanna May Soak Entire East Coast

Tropical Storm Hanna sailed easily over the beaches of Carolinas' coast early Saturday, blowing hard and dumping rain but apparently causing little damage at the start of its speedy run north to New England.

"Hanna is heading north in a hurry, leaving behind sunshine for the weekend," said Myrtle Beach city spokesman Mark Kruea.

He said city services would be open and that "despite a week of preliminary hype" the storm didn't have much of an impact on the city except a few downed trees and some power outages that were repaired in less than a half-hour.

Further to the north, officials in North Carolina reported more than 30,000 customers without power as Hanna moved inland through the eastern part of the state.

The wind started to kick in about 2:30 a.m., said Don Ogle, of Newport, night manager of a Morehead City motel along North Carolina's central coast. He said half of the motel's day crew stayed overnight.

"I don't know why. I'd go home if I could," he said.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Hanna's center came on land about 3:20 a.m. near the state line with top sustained winds dropping to about 60 mph from near 70 mph while the storm was over water.

"All I've heard is wind, wind and more wind," said 19-year-old Dylan Oslzewski, who was working an overnight shift at a convenience store in Shallotte, N.C., about 15 miles north of the state line with South Carolina. Oslzewski said he had only had four customers compared to 30 or 40 on a typical weekend night.

Hanna started drenching the Carolina coast Friday, with some street flooding by late afternoon. People on the beach had to shout to be heard.

By early Saturday, the wind howled with gusts near 50 mph and rain came in blinding bursts in Myrtle Beach. The lights flickered several times along some beachfront blocks and the wind was so strong that it made waves in hotel pools. Several roads flooded at the peak of the storm, including U.S. 17 in Georgetown, which was shut down for several hours.

But nearly all the flooding was gone before daybreak, said Georgetown County Emergency Management Division spokesman Greg Troutman.

"We lucked out. There's not much out there to report," Troutman said after daybreak Saturday. "But it was good to dust off the ol' emergency plan."

Florida Begins Looking At Next Storm

With each new advisory from the National Hurricane Center showing Tropical Storm Hanna's track moving up the coast, emergency managers along Florida's coast began to relax.

Duval County's Emergency Operations Center scaled back from Level 2 to Level 3 activation at 5 p.m. Thursday, and much of its attention will turn to the next storm: Hurricane Ike.

Although Ike weakened to a Category 3 storm early Friday, it still considered a dangerous hurricane by the National Hurricane Center and the five-day forecast projects the storm could reach Florida by Tuesday morning.

With piles of storm debris from Fay still along curbs, contractors were rushing to complete pickup this week so the downed limbs and other debris would not become missiles if the winds pick up again.

Others are rushing to complete roof repairs or are still drying out from flooding from up to 20 inches of rain Fay dropped on the area.

Federal Emergency Management Agency officials remain in Florida assessing damage from Fay. Federal officials will likely establish a relief office in the Jacksonville area for those who sustained uninsured losses from the storm.

Because of the possibility of storm conditions in Jacksonville on Friday, high school football games for all public schools in northeast Florida were moved from Friday to Thursday.

Islands Lashed By Hanna

Hanna roared past the edge of the Bahamas on Thursday, knocking out power to Cat Island and causing minor flooding in other eastern islands, but sparing the Atlantic nation major damage.

Islands further south, where Hanna stalled for 36 hours, the news was far worse.

Haiti's government more than doubled Hanna's death toll late Thursday to 137. It had previously been 61.

Eighty of the deaths occurred in the flooded region of Gonaives and another 22 people died in areas immediately surrounding the port, according to statements released by the Ministry of the Interior and the Civil Protection Department. The remaining 35 deaths were scattered across Haiti, the statements said.

Gonaives has been almost entirely cut off by Hanna's floodwaters and virtual lakes have formed over every road.

The storm also was blamed for two deaths in Puerto Rico.

Forecasters expected Hanna to strengthen only slightly before making landfall early Saturday, though hurricane watches remained for much of coastal North and South Carolina.

In the Bahamas, Hanna snapped telephone lines in the eastern island of San Salvador as it brushed past, said Quincy Poitier, who answered the phone at the Riding Rock Inn Resort And Marina, but there were no reports of injuries.

"Most certainly I am relieved. We are tranquil," said Stephen Russell, interim director of the Bahamas National Emergency Management Agency.

"As soon as we are clear with Hanna, we have to turn our eyes now on Ike, a powerful one coming ashore," Russell said.