North Carolina declared disaster area

US President George W Bush today declared North Carolina a disaster area as Hurricane Isabel ploughed into coastal islands on the US eastern seaboard with 100 mph winds.

The storm rolled in at around midday with a 5ft surge, that swamped roads and knocked out power to more than one million people.

Isabel’s top sustained wind eased to 95 mph after it hit land, and it was expected to continue weakening.

At 10pm Irish time, the centre of Isabel’s “very large eye” was over North Carolina’s Pamlico Sound, between the mainland and North Carolina’s Outer Banks islands. It was moving north west at around 24 mph.

It was expected to move north across Virginia and cut through western Pennsylvania and western New York state before dissipating in Canada by Saturday.

Mr Bush granted North Carolina Governor Mike Easley’s request for a federal disaster declaration, ordering federal aid to the state. In anticipation of flooding and wind damage, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell issued a state-wide “disaster emergency” declaration. The governors of West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia and Delaware had earlier declared emergencies.

Despite downed trees, snarled air traffic and widespread power outages – about 1.3 million in North Carolina and south-eastern Virginia alone – there were no immediate reports of any deaths or widespread flooding.

But National Hurricane Centre Director Max Mayfield said fast-moving Isabel still poses a threat because of its large size and its potential to bring six to 10in of rain and flooding to an east coast already sodden from one of the wettest summers in years.

“This is certainly not over for people experiencing Hurricane Isabel,” he said. “This hurricane will not be remembered for how strong it is. It will be remembered for how large it is.”

There were isolated areas of damage on the Outer Banks. The storm tore apart two beach houses in Nags Head, picking up the washer, dryer and refrigerator and carrying them about 500ft down the street.

Wind blew out the windows of a storm shelter near Elizabeth City, injuring five people hit by flying glass. In the community of Harlow, just inland from the coast, rescue teams were dispatched after about 130 people were trapped by floodwaters, possibly in their own homes.

The storm spread rain across North Carolina and Virginia and into Maryland, Delaware and parts of West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Well over 1,500 flights were cancelled at airports in the major eastern cities, said David Stempler, president of the Air Travellers Association. As the storm moved northward, all flights to and from the Washington metropolitan area’s airports were likely to be cancelled, he said.

The federal government shut down in Washington. Train services were halted south of Washington, and the Washington-area Metro system shut down all subway and bus services.