Isabel May Bring a Foot of Rain to N.C.

By EMERY P. DALESIO
Associated Press

NAGS HEAD, N.C. (AP) -- Hurricane Isabel closed in on North Carolina's Outer Banks on Wednesday with 105 mph winds and the potential for up to a foot of rain, threatening to cause ruinous flooding across a huge swath of the already soggy East.

Isabel had weakened to a Category 2 hurricane from a Category 5, 160-mph monster, but was still expected to be dangerous when it hit the barrier islands Thursday morning with a storm surge of up to 11 feet.

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More than 230,000 people in North Carolina and Virginia were urged to move to higher ground, leaving the vulnerable Outer Banks mostly evacuated. Evacuation orders were also posted for low-lying inland areas and islands of the Chesapeake Bay, which could get a 7-foot surge.

After days of warnings, anxiety over the onrushing hurricane finally appeared to take hold, even among longtime Outer Banks residents who pride themselves on their ability to ride out big storms.

"There's probably no one in the area within a quarter-mile," said Jason Ribeiro.

Ribeiro had planned to play a gig with his Nags Head rockabilly band Wednesday night. But with most of his neighbors gone and bars closed under an evacuation order, he packed his sport utility vehicle with five guitars and headed out onto a mainland road virtually clear after days of hurricane warnings.

"That five-day thing that they have on the Weather Channel, I mean, take a look around," he said. "There's nobody here."

At 5 p.m. EDT, Isabel was about 315 miles southeast of North Carolina's Cape Hatteras, moving northwest at around 14 mph. It was expected to pick up speed as it approached the coast, and forecasters said its remnants could hit Quebec by Saturday.

A hurricane warning was in effect from Cape Fear in southern North Carolina to the Virginia-Maryland line. Tropical storm warnings extended from South Carolina to New Jersey.

For many in Isabel's path, an area stretching from the Carolinas to the fields of Pennsylvania and the hollows of West Virginia, one of the rainiest summers in years could get considerably worse.

More than 9 inches of rain was forecast for parts of Pennsylvania, and National Hurricane Center director Max Mayfield said heavy rain could extend all the way to New England.

Gov. Bob Wise declared a state of emergency for all of West Virginia, anticipating heavy flooding in the Potomac River basin. He also ordered highway crews and National Guardsmen to areas most in danger from Isabel. Up to 12 inches was possible in Morgan County.

Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner declared a state of emergency, saying she was particularly concerned about a northern part of the state still recovering from flooding that washed away roads and creek beds Monday.

Pennsylvania officials said the ground is so sodden that it would take as little as 2 to 4 inches of rain to cause rivers and creeks to spill their banks.

John and Rita Razze's home in Chadds Ford, Pa., was flooded with several inches of water when rain earlier this week caused the nearby Brandywine River to overflow. Now, with everything pumped out and cleaned up, he worried that the ground would be unable to absorb any of Isabel's rain.

He left work Wednesday afternoon to pull his heater out of the basement and take everything he could carry to the second floor. Furniture and anything else that was too big to move was propped up on chairs.

"Usually we stay here and wait it out. This time, we're going to get the heck out of here," he said. "Once the water starts coming in, you can't stop it. There's nothing you can do but watch it."

At historic Jamestown, Va., archaeologists blanketed a dig of the first permanent English settlement in America with a tarp and anchored it with sandbags. More than 500,000 artifacts from Jamestown Island are stored in a storm-proof vault.

In Kill Devil Hills, N.C., museum curators prepared to move artifacts and photographs collected for the centennial celebration of the Wright brothers' first flight.

As far north as Massachusetts, farmers worked overtime to harvest delicate apples and pears that could be destroyed by a big storm.

"I would say wind damage is the No. 1 issue," said Leon Ressler, Pennsylvania State University extension director for Lancaster County. "The risk of that damage is significant - you're losing your factory."

In the middle of Chesapeake Bay, most of the 295 residents of Maryland's Smith Island packed up and left for the mainland, but 50 to 60 stayed behind.

"I've been here 65 years. I've never left for one yet. I was here for Hazel when the eye came right over the island," said waterman Eddie Evans, 65, sitting on a dock after tying down his crab traps.

-- Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

National Hurricane Center: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

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