US: After smashing up wooden piers and stripping off roof tiles in coastal towns of North Carolina and Virginia, Hurricane Isabel whipped inland along Chesapeake Bay towards Washington last night, losing strength but drenching the capital in torrential rain.
President George Bush took to the hills to ride out the storm - the President went to Camp David in the Appalachian mountains - while Congress shut up shop and 350,000 federal workers were sent home.
Residents of low-lying streets in Washington, and those with basement apartments, spent yesterday sandbagging their homes against an expected surge of flood water. By 11.00 a.m. yesterday, all subway and bus services in Washington had been cancelled, and schools and stores closed, leaving the capital like a drenched ghost town.
Airports in the DC area and throughout several eastern states, especially Virginia and the Carolinas, ceased operating because of dangerous wind gusts. At least 1,000 commuter flights were cancelled, disrupting travel all across the United States.
In New York, storm force winds gusting at more than 40 miles an hour were expected last night and this morning. Forecasters warned that these could approach hurricane force in the artificial canyons formed by skyscrapers.
TV news stations broadcast non-stop hurricane coverage throughout yesterday, with reporters bent almost horizontal as they struggled to expose themselves to the worst of the hurricane's force along the coast. One Fox News correspondent had to abandon his report as the fierce wind tugged down his waterproof trousers.
Isabel's winds, a few days ago, screamed across the south Atlantic at 150 miles an hour making it a Category 5 hurricane, but they eased to 100 mph and less, making it a Category 2 storm on approaching land. A gust of 80 mph was recorded on Ocracoke Island, according to the National Hurricane Centre.
The combination of gales and rain caused power blackouts for up to 600,000 customers in southeastern Virginia and North Carolina, including parts of Raleigh. North Carolina Governor Mike Easley asked for a federal disaster declaration to qualify for damage assistance, and disaster emergencies were declared in Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia and Delaware.
The eye of the storm came ashore after noon along the southern Outer Banks of North Carolina, a wide strip of sand running some distance offshore. In one place, parts of the facade of a Ramada Inn were ripped away by high winds, and a parked SUV was blown over. One man was reported to have drowned when caught in a wave.
Forecasters said Isabel would remain a hurricane with sustained winds of at least 74 mph for about 12 hours after landfall. It moved north across North Carolina and Virginia last night and is expected to advance through western Pennsylvania and western New York state today before running out of steam in Canada tomorrow.
As the ground is already saturated from an exceptionally wet summer, there were concerns about landslides in states along the Atlantic seaboard and further inland. Pennsylvania was bracing for six to nine inches of rain.
President Bush flew to the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland on Wednesday evening, a day earlier than planned, to beat the storm. He was joined by visiting King Abdullah II of Jordan.
"We'll have a nice lunch and then we'll batten down the hatches and spend a good evening with our friend," he said.
Congress met yesterday morning, only to adjourn within minutes. In its last legislative act before members fled, the Senate - by voice-vote - agreed to a resolution honouring singer Johnny Cash, who died last week. The House met less than five minutes, then adjourned until next week.