Seventeen killed as Isabel slams into US

Flooding and power cuts were widespread across the east coast of America tonight and 17 people lay dead in the aftermath of hurricane Isabel.

The day after the category two storm slammed into land, people were picking up the pieces and counting the cost of the damage caused by the 100mph winds and monster waves.

The areas most badly affected were in North Carolina and Virginia, where the eye of the storm first came ashore, but parts of Delaware and Maryland were also suffering.

Hurricane Isabel was blamed for at least 17 deaths – nine in Virginia, three in North Carolina, two in Maryland and one each in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Rhode Island.

The worst of the flooding was seen in the Chesapeake Bay area, which suffered an 8ft storm surge at the height of the tempest.

Some 400 people were rescued in the Baltimore area after tidal flooding left them stranded. The water level reached the second floor of some buildings.

Some homes were flattened by the devastating winds.

“We just got totalled,” said Brooks Stalnaker, 72, whose home in inland Harlowe collapsed.

Power company workers were attempting to restore electricity to 4.5 million homes and businesses, but they warned the task could take days as lines have been knocked down.

President George Bush declared major disasters in North Carolina and Virginia, ordering federal aid to both states.

The governors of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey and Delaware declared state emergencies.

Along the coast many people were warned to boil drinking water and to be on the lookout for live electricity cables which have been toppled.

Fallen trees, power lines, sand and debris made many roads impassable.

An electricity engineer was electrocuted in North Carolina as he tried to restore power, and a man in Virginia drowned while canoeing.

Most of the other storm-related deaths were from falling trees or car accidents.

But despite the trail of destruction, many Americans were thankful that they were not blasted by the 160mph winds which Isabel threatened before she hit land.

Isabel was not as deadly or as costly as hurricane Floyd which killed 56 people and caused £2.5 billion damage in 1999.

Washington remained virtually closed down for a second day, prompting some visitors to the capital to accuse city officials of “overkill”.

Offices, monuments and subway tunnels were shut down and the federal government remained closed.

Officials said they were exercising “an abundance of caution” in taking the decision.

But as the storm passed with minimal affect on the capital, tourist Sandra de Dubovay said: “I think it’s a little overkill.

“Some people only have a day here. It is frustrating,” said Ms de Dubovay, from Los Angeles.

The weather system, now downgraded to a tropical storm with 35mph winds, was heading north and is expected to dissipate over Canada by Sunday.