Around 30,000 residents and visitors were ordered to evacuate a US island today as Hurricane Earl approached.

With her marriage in freefall, Adrienne Willis (Diane Lane) takes time out to spend a weekend in the North Carolina coastal community of Rodanthe, looking after the beachside inn run by her good friend.

Cars, recreational vehicles and SUVs streamed inland from North Carolina’s coast as up to 90,000 people were urged to get out of the way of Hurricane Isabel, the most powerful storm in four years to menace the eastern US.