 Isabel has weakened but is still packing a punch |
The eastern coast of the United States is taking a pounding as Hurricane Isabel moves inland, ripping off roofs, knocking down trees and snapping power lines. The hurricane, with winds gusting at up to 150 km/h (90 mph), has so far left about one million people without power and is causing widespread flooding. Sea levels have risen dramatically, threatening some towns.
At least two deaths have been attributed to the hurricane, which has prompted tens of thousands of people to leave their homes along the coasts of North Carolina and Virginia. Others decided to stay put with emergency supplies to ride out the storm.
President Bush has declared parts of Virginia and North Carolina major disaster zones, a move that will release federal funds to aid recovery efforts, the White House said.
A state of emergency has been declared across much of the region, while many schools, businesses and offices - including the federal government in Washington DC - are closed for the day. Federal buildings will remain closed on Friday.
Isabel has now been downgraded to a tropical storm, and at 2300 EDT (0300 GMT) the centre of the storm was located about 35 miles west of Richmond in Virginia, the National Hurricane Center in Miami reports.
It continues moving in a north-westerly direction at about 30 km/h (20mph), the centre said.
The BBC's Rob Watson in Virginia Beach on the Atlantic Ocean says an angry sea has now burst the beach and is threatening the town.
In the beach resort of Kitty Hawk in North Carolina, Fred Gentry described how the hurricane tore down his house.
"The wall literally just split in half horizontally, it just caved in, taking the furniture with it," Mr Gentry told the AFP news agency.
Meteorologists expect Isabel to head across Virginia and towards the US capital, before moving through Pennsylvania and petering out over Canada by Sunday.
"It is big, it is ugly. It is a bad storm and it is heading our way," Washington Mayor Anthony Williams said. The streets in the capital were largely empty on Thursday as people sheltered from the storm.
President George W Bush was among those who left the hurricane's expected path, going to his retreat at Camp David in Maryland.
Flights were cancelled or re-routed to safer destinations across the eastern US, and many train services were stopped.
The storm, at one point a rare maximum Category Five hurricane, has weakened but forecasters are warning that it could still wreak considerable damage.
The biggest danger is from flooding, as the hurricane dumps heavy rain on soil already saturated from a wetter than normal summer.
 |  People are taking no chances in its face, and most of the lower-lying areas have been evacuated  |
The US Geological Survey has warned of the dangers of landslides in several states: West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York, the Associated Press reported.
The last major storm to hit the area in 1999, Hurricane Floyd, caused damage put at $4.5bn.
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