Posted on 09/18/2003 8:00:23 PM PDT by NautiNurse
Isabel was downgraded to a tropical storm tonight after it left two dead, nearly 1.8 million homes and businesses without power. Air travel was disrupted across the East as the storm crossed North Carolina's Outer Banks and headed north of Roanoke Rapids. A utility worker with the Carteret-Craven Electric Cooperative was electrocuted while restoring power. Harold T. Anderson Jr., 48, of Salter Path, left behind a wife and two children. In Virginia, a motorist on Interstate 95 near Richmond died in a crash blamed on heavy rains. "This is the worst I've seen in 35 years," said J.D. Brickhouse, Tyrrell County Manager after losing three of five law enforcement vehicles to falling trees. "If this is only a category 2 hurricane, I don't want to see a category 3." But though the storm kicked up punishing winds and high seas, the toll appeared to be less than that exacted by hurricanes Fran or Floyd. The eye of the storm came ashore just south of Ocracoke Island about 1 p.m., with sustained winds near 100 mph, gusts up to 105 mph and a storm surge of five to six feet at Cape Hatteras. It was headed northwest at 20 mph, and was expected to move across eastern Virginia toward western Pennsylvania overnight. At least 123 shelters were open, with 8,200 residents taking refuge there. Tens of thousands had already fled the barrier islands and coastal counties. Power outages to more than 587,000 customers had been reported in North Carolina in an area stretching from Wilmington to Virginia and the Triad and Triangle eastward to the coast. In the Triangle, more than 144,000 customers were without power and utilities said workers wouldn't begin restoring electricity to most before Friday. Emergency management officials advised drivers to treat all non-operating traffic lights as four-way stops until the power returns. Durham, Wake, Johnston and Harnett county schools will be closed Friday. Durham County courts will remain closed Friday. Alan Exum, Enfield's police chief, said that, overall, residents so far had shown a lot of common sense.
"They're being wise," he said. "Everybody's looking out the window and standing at their front door, but they aren't going out in it." The worst damage was in the eastern part of the state where local officials closed several roads due to flooding or high winds, including N.C. 12 on the Outer Banks, and N.C. 210 in North Topsail Beach. In Harlowe, a small community in Carteret County, 30 to 40 homes were destroyed, either by winds, falling trees or flooding, said Jeremy Brown, chief of Harlowe's volunteer fire department. He estimated that 200 homes were flooded. Winds also blew out the window of a storm shelter near Elizabeth City, injuring five people hit by flying glass. Storm surge flooding of 4 to 8 feet above normal tide levels was reported, along with extremely large and dangerous battering waves. A storm surge of 5 to 6 feet was reported at Cape Hatteras. Those tides were expected to subside overnight. A storm band boasting wind gusts in excess of 60 miles per hour slammed into Rocky Mount about 3:30 p.m., overturning trees and forcing even emergency personnel from the roads. Among those seeking the safety of shelters was Debbie Evans of Roanoke Rapids, who, with her mother, her daughter and three grandchildren claimed a space in one of Halifax County's five shelters. She said she would have ridden out the storm in her trailer but for her 93-year-old mother, Mary Tisdell, who is recovering from a broken hip and needs a wheelchair. "Do you know what it's like with just 30 mile an hour winds trying to get a lady in a wheelchair in a car," asked Evans. The storm is expected to follow a northwest track Friday, turning more northerly overnight. A tropical storm warning replaced hurricane warning from Surf City to Cape Fear at 5 p.m. Isolated tornadoes over Eastern North Carolina and Eastern Virginia are possible.
Forecasters were calling for between six and 10 inches of rainfall in some places, and storm surges that could well the Pamlico and Neuse rivers. Winds in the Triangle reached a peak of 43 mph at Raleigh Durham International Airport. Wind speeds did not come close to those the Triangle saw during Hurricane Fran in 1996, when winds exceeded 70 mph. Between 1 and 3 inches of rain are expected across the Triangle. At Raleigh-Durham International Airport, all flights were canceled for the remainder of the day. Flights are expected to resume Friday, but there may be more delays and cancellations as airlines get back on schedule. All Amtrak trains through the state are canceled Friday. Meanwhile, officials already are looking toward Friday. Beginning tonight after Isabel passes through coastal North Carolina, Collins said officials will begin assessing the needs of the worst-hit communities and prioritizing mission assignments. Those deliveries and rescue efforts are likely to begin at daylight Friday, if the roads are passable, he said. At the Nags Head Shell Station, owner Dennis O'Shell, 45, was selling hot coffee and snack food all morning - no beer due to the evacuation order, a paper sign said - and hoped to keep the doors open all day. He had a crew ready to drive in from Winston-Salem to repair the damage once the storm died down. If he had to close the store, O'Shell said he would head home to his house sound-side and wait it out rather than join family in Fredericksburg. "There's always the possibility of someone messing with your stuff," during the recovery, he said. "If you're here, you can start picking up the pieces." The Associated Press contributed to this report.
God bless, and rest your soul, hero. prayers for your children.
We know from following the threads, for the past few days, that most of our fellow FReepers were taking Isabel seriously.
Let's hope everyone made it through without harm coming to themselves or their families and suffering no major property damage.
There were several FReepers worried about the large, old trees near their homes.
Sometimes the combination of the wind and rain getting in and then the subsequent removal of the tree damages the home more than the initial hit.
Yep, good point, and that water can linger for WEEKS, the wind goes away after a few hours..
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