Hurricane Isabel, weakened to a tropical storm, moved inland yesterday leaving in its wake 13 people dead, flooding, downed trees, nearly 4 million homes and businesses without power and the US capital shut down for a second day.
Seven people died in Virginia, four in vehicle accidents and three from falling trees, according to a spokesman for the state's Department for Emergency Management.
PHOTO: AFP
Four traffic deaths were blamed on the storm in North Carolina, Maryland and Pennsylvania.
New Jersey state police reported that a weather-related fatality occurred around sunrise yesterday when a tree fell on a car. The storm also killed a utility repairman in North Carolina who was trying to restore power in coastal Carteret County.
Isabel peaked with sustained winds of 160 kph as it hit the Outer Banks islands of North Carolina on Thursday. Its eye came ashore near Ocracoke Island at midday.
The storm traveled northwest toward Pennsylvania yesterday and left day-after fears of widespread flooding as it was downgraded from a hurricane on Thursday night.
The federal government shut down on Thursday as the storm bore down on Washington and remained closed yesterday. Most of Congress left town before Isabel arrived. The capital's Metro subway and bus system, however, reopened yesterday.
The storm toppled trees, left homes and businesses without power and flooded parts of Reagan National Airport and the Old Town section of nearby Alexandria, Virginia. But Isabel did not hit the capital with as much force as expected. Heavy rain and high winds held off until early Thursday night, when winds gusted to 84 kph.
Across Isabel's path, evidence of widespread and costly damage was mounting.
In all, at least 2.8 million homes and businesses had lost power from the Carolinas to Pennsylvania and nearly a quarter of a million people were forced from their homes as Isabel sent a storm surge of up to 3.3m into the North Carolina and Virginia coasts.
While Isabel had weakened, it remained a very dangerous storm.
States of emergency were declared in North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, Maryland, West Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
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