Tens Of Thousands Flee As US Braces For Hurricane Isabela

TERRADAILY

Tens Of Thousands Flee As US Braces For Hurricane Isabela
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (AFP) Sep 17, 2003

ISS007-E-14882 (15 September 2003) --- This close-up view of the eye of Hurricane Isabel was taken by one of the Expedition 7 crewmembers onboard the International Space Station (ISS).

More satellite images at SpaceFlight.NASA

Tens of thousands of people fled their homes on the US East Coast on Tuesday and dozens of navy vessels were ordered out to sea to avoid a collision with Hurricane Isabel. Isabel eased slighty but was still packing winds of 170 kilometersmiles) an hour as it headed for an expected landfall early Thursday, according to the US National Hurricane Center.

Forecasters said Isabel would pack its first punch in North Carolina and then sweep up the seaboard towards Washington. Nearly 50 million people live in the path Isabel is expected to take.

North Carolina and Virginia issued states of emergency and evacuations orders were made for an area covering about 110,000 people, mainly on the small Outer Bank islands off North Carolina and beach resorts on the coast.

About 23,000 people in North Carolina's Dare county were affected by the evacuation order.

In summer the Dare population swells to 150,000 but Frank Pierce, a state public safety spokesman, said there were few tourists in the county now.

North Carolina Governor Mike Easley urged people to "stock up on needed supplies such as gasoline and water, and tune to news broadcasts to hear the latest updates from emergency management personnel."

Thousands of home and store owners from South Carolina to Virginia and Maryland rushed to board up windows and buy emergency food, batteries and first aid kits. Several hardware stores reported shortages.

Todd Liston, 34, screwed sheets of plywood onto the metal frame of the windows of the offices of his seaside pool company in Kitty Hawk.

This hurricane "looks pretty serious, more than usual," said Liston. "We're pretty prepared here, more than further inland."

Liston said that he has had to board up the windows several times because of hurricanes, including in 1999 for Hurricane Floyd. "Most people kept their plywood from last time," he said.

US warships began steaming out of the giant US naval base at Norfolk, Virginia, to get out of Isabela's path.

Up to 40 submarines and warships, including the carrier USS Ronald Reagan, headed to sea to ride out the hurricane, the US navy said.

An Atlantic Fleet spokesman said the ships were to leave port every 10 to 15 minutes, and about 110 F/A-18 and F-14 fighters based at nearby Oceana Naval Station were also sent to other bases beyond the reach of the storm.

Air Force One, President George W. Bush's airplane based at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, was also ordered to fly inland, officials said.

The air force was to empty six East Coast bases, sending squadrons of fighters, refueling aircraft, transport planes and helicopters to bases to the US Midwest, said a spokeswoman.

A hurricane watch was in effect from Little River inlet in South Carolina, to Chincoteague, in northeast Virginia, meaning it could hit in about 36 hours, according to the Florida-based Hurricane Center.

Isabel's center was located about 917 kilometers (570 miles) southeast of North Carolina's Cape Hatteras. The hurricane was heading in a northwestern direction at a speed of nearly 13 kilometers (eight miles) per hour, according to the center.

"While some further weakening is possible," the weather service said in a statement, "conditions could become favorable for restrengthening prior to landfall."

Isabel is currently a Category two hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, which goes to five. Over the weekend Isabel was a Category Five, packing winds of up to 260 kilometers (160 miles) per hour.

"The public must continue to take this storm seriously," said Tim Schott, a spokesman for the National Weather Service.

All rights reserved. � 2003 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

EARTH OBSERVATION

Satellites Sample Hurricane Ingredients To Help Forecasters

Greenbelt - Sep 11, 2003
Every year, from June 1 to November 30, the Atlantic Ocean becomes a meteorological mixing bowl, replete with all the needed ingredients for a hurricane recipe. Forecasters who seek to monitor and understand hurricanes are increasingly turning to a cadre of NASA satellites and instruments, including several from NASA�s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., that serve up a feast of information on these awesome storms.

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.