East Coast recovers from Isabel

The East Coast is beginning to recover after Hurricane Isabel hit land Thursday, damaging areas in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. All four states have been declared federal disaster areas. \nThe hardest hit region was North Carolina's Hatteras Island where an inlet was cut between Hatteras and Frisco, according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation. Authorities are now planning how they will further efforts to repair the highway with support crews coming in as far west as Greensboro, N.C.\nResidents and rescue crews continued to clean up the storm's debris, and electric companies were pulling long hours throughout the weekend to bring power back to the approximately 4.5 million people living in blacked-out areas, according to The Associated Press. \nWhat started as a Category 2 hurricane with wind speeds ranging from 96 to 110 mph, Isabel dissipated to a tropical storm late Thursday night with winds decreasing to speeds of an average of 39 to 73 mph. The storm has been blamed for 17 deaths.\nOn the eastern shores of North Carolina, curfews were placed in the areas of Currituck, Dare and surrounding counties, where authorities blocked entrances to the state's Outer Banks. Curfews limited movement of residents and denied entry to any passers-through except for authorized rescue personnel and those with proof of residency.\nResidents in Elizabeth City, N.C., were also placed on curfew -- restricted from traveling throughout the region due to heavy flooding, downed power lines and leveled trees.\n"Probably about 1 or 2 o'clock, it just came crashing down," Elizabeth City resident Teddy Gordon said, pointing to a fallen tree in his backyard inches from his home. "We were sitting in the kitchen and heard the winds, and when I looked out, we just saw it crash."\nOperators at the Cape Lookout National Seashore, along North Carolina's middle eastern coast, said the area was officially closed. Those who attempted to pass through with private boats were considered trespassers and issued citations.\nAccording to the Virginia Department of Transportation Web site, all primary routes throughout the state had been cleared, with some debris only partially blocking traffic lanes. Thirty percent of the area's secondary routes remained closed and blocked by debris, downed power lines and high waters.\n"The main thing is just to get stuff cleaned up. There's lots of limbs," said Virginia Beach, Va., resident Harlan Murray. Like many others in the state's southeastern region, Murray hurried to local hardware stores for supplies to clean up Isabel's aftermath.\n"Luckily, we bought two battery-powered radios," Murray said. He was one of the more than one million Virginia residents who remained without power over the weekend.\n"We've just been playing cards and waiting to hear the news," he said. "Hopefully good news."\n-- Contact Asst. Opinion editor Jackie Corgan at jcorgan@indiana.edu.