should the storm strike, business owners were also ready to move their merchandise if the need arose. New York City officials prepared for the worst, with police officers filling gas tanks of their patrol cars and extra patrol men being called to duty in advance of the hurricane. Flights were canceled in New York, firemen stood at the ready in Staten Island, and the Coast Guard warned shipping companies of the impending storm. A boxing match between Rocky Marciano and Archie Moore was delayed, which allowed the promoters to sell an additional $150,000 (1955) in tickets, which is $ in present-day figures. Impact September 18 was a gloomy day in Swan Quarter, North Carolina and winds did not significantly increase until between 2 and 3 p.m. By 9:30 p.m., strong winds buffeted the area from the east-northeast and the electricity went out at around 10:50 p.m. Area homes flooded for the first time since Barbara of the 1953 Atlantic hurricane season and the tides increased until 8:45 a.m. on September 19 before rapidly rising between 2:00 and 2:30 p.m. The Lake Causeway was partially washed out towards New Holland. The Diamond Shoals lightship was reported to have broken loose during the hurricane. Tides did not fully recede at Swan Quarter until 3 a.m. on September 20, with winds finally dying down after 7 a.m. the same day. Cherry Point recorded a maximum sustained wind of , with gusts to . Prolonged easterly winds forced the tide to increase to levels to above normal, which resulted in one of the largest inundations in North Carolina history. The storm surge from Ione was recorded at at Morehead City, North Carolina, while a storm tide of was measured at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. It was reported that the storm lasted for nearly two days in North Carolina. HMTS Monarch, which had departed from Newfoundland, was laying telephone cable across the Atlantic ocean when Ione crossed its path. The ship weathered the storm, and managed to reach Scotland to complete its mission by September 26. Ione caused $600 million (2005 USD) in damage, much of it to crops across North Carolina. The rest came from flooding in an area already devastated by Hurricanes Connie and Diane six weeks earlier. Along the Trent River near Trent and the New River near Gum Branch, North Carolina, the river stage reached heights not seen again until Hurricane