Sad news=23 deaths blamed on Isabel

[cycloneye]

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WEATHER/09/19/isabel/index.html

Also 3.5 millon people are without power but that will be restored slowly.Isabels name will be retired because it has caused 23 deaths and plenty of damage so in 6 years another name with the I letter will replace Isabel.

[janswizard]

Sorry, Cycloneye, I didn't see your post and just posted something similar. However, I'm also pondering what could have been said/done differently in advance of the storm that would have spared these lives.

[cycloneye]

Yes I agree about what yousaid about the plenty of midia information for pewople to prepare but you may haved seen some people in the beaches walking around and also driving in flooded roads and the best example was a suv that turned around as the ocean came in. Some people like to be exposed to the dangers of these events.

[Guest]

Well as i heard on the news last night alot of people choose not to leave because of the fact that Isabel was downgraded from a Cat5 hurricane to a Cat 2....................I dont understand that because a hurricane is a hurricane imo...................Plus im sure a few of these were flood related which some people may not understand that even though a hurricane is downgraded that does not mean the rains is as well.....................Either way it is sad news.................

[Rainband]

Very sad indeed!!

[janswizard]

That's a real good possibility, KOW. I've heard that many would have taken this storm more seriously if it had been a tropical storm upgraded to a Cat 2 vrs. a Cat 5 downgraded to a Cat 2. And I agree with you, a hurricane is a hurricane, regardless of it's intensity.

[JCT777]

That is very sad news! I know that the conditions in eastern NC and southeast VA were very bad yesterday, and I am sure even if all precautions were taken, there still would have been a few losses.

[Colin]

Very sad...there was enough warning so I really don't understand all these deaths.

[alicia-w]

The CNN report is saying 13 dead now.

[alicia-w]

I can imagine that it might have been much worse without the mandatory evacuations.

[wx247]

Here is one of the reasons... most of the networks were saying "She is weakening". While it is true she did weaken from a Cat. 5 to a Cat.2... it didn't weaken after that. This gave many people the false impression it would weaken further before it came onshore. That is the impression I am getting by watching some of these interviews. How sad...

[GalvestonDuck]

wx247 -- I agree. "Weakening" has a totally different meaning than "weakened." She had weakened, but was not continuing to do so.

[msbee]

what a shame!
and I am sure most of those deaths could have been avoided if people had taken more care.
Unfortunately often people underestimate the power of these storms..even a CAT 1 or 2.

[wx247]

That they do Msbee. They don't realize that sustained winds of 60 mph are hard to take... let alone 80 mph ones or higher.

[Josephine96]

Up that death toll to 14 please... It's still sad that people died

[wx247]

Wow. Do we know the locations where these losses of life are coming from? I know that sounds heartless, but it is something that would be important to know, ie: where they on the Outer Banks, or Washington DC metro, etc.

[stormywind88]

Can anyone tell me where I can find out how ppl faired in Fairfax Va? We cant get in touch with our father and have been trying since 5am.

[GalvestonDuck]

Wow. Do we know the locations where these losses of life are coming from? I know that sounds heartless, but it is something that would be important to know, ie: where they on the Outer Banks, or Washington DC metro, etc.

This is what I've found so far (from MSNBC.com):

Isabel's impact

DELAWARE
Gov. Ruth Ann Minner declared state of emergency. Some 105,000 customers were without power. About 400 people sought refuge in shelters.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
The federal government shut down Friday for a second day. Metro subway and bus service were suspended through at least Friday morning and city schools were closed. Mayor Anthony A. Williams declared a state of emergency. At least 129,000 customers lost power. No one was injured.

MARYLAND
Gov. Robert Ehrlich declared state of emergency. A motorist’s death was blamed on the storm. Ehrlich said 630 National Guard troops were on active duty and 540,000 sandbags were prepared. Officials said 629,000 customers were without power.

NEW JERSEY
Gov. James E. McGreevey declared a state of emergency. Some 120,000 customers lost power. No serious injuries reported. In Perth Amboy, a power line went down in front of the city’s main firehouse, preventing fire engines from entering and exiting. Miss America pageant officials said they would go ahead with plans to hold the annual parade on the Boardwalk on Friday night.

NEW YORK
In Long Beach, a 42-year-old man apparently drowned while swimming in the ocean. Police said the cause had not been officially determined so they could not say whether it was weather-related. About 20 flights out of Kennedy International were canceled, while travelers at LaGuardia airport were experiencing delays of up to two hours. There were more than 4,100 outages on Long Island, and about 3,600 in Westchester and New York City.

NORTH CAROLINA
President Bush declared a major disaster in North Carolina, where the hurricane made landfall along the Outer Banks. The death of an electrical worker was blamed on the storm. More than 2.5 million customers were without electricity; 8,400 people went to shelters.

PENNSYLVANIA
Gov. Ed Rendell declared state of emergency. About 350,000 customers lost power. Philadelphia International Airport canceled 20 percent of its departures. More than 150 flights from Pittsburgh International Airport to East Coast destinations were canceled. A 58-year-old man was knocked unconscious when a sign blew over and fell on him. Schools across central Pennsylvania closed Friday, as did some districts in the northeastern region.

RHODE ISLAND
A man is killed when he is swept out to sea by storm-driven surfs in Naragansett.

SOUTH CAROLINA
The fringes of Isabel reached into the state, bringing some brisk winds and occasional bands of rain but little more. State officials closed the emergency operations center in Columbia as the storm moved away.

VIRGINIA
Bush declared a major disaster in Virginia, where high wind knocked out power for more than 1.6 million customers. Six people were killed in a pair of weather-related traffic accidents in the state; another was killed by a falling tree. More than 16,000 people went to shelters.

WEST VIRGINIA
Power companies reported scattered outages — about 4,800 — in the Eastern Panhandle, believed to be caused by wind gusts up to 80 mph. Heavy rain hit much of the state; as much as a foot was expected in parts of the Eastern Panhandle. Emergency workers prepared for possible flooding and the U.S. Geological Survey warned of possible landslides.

[GalvestonDuck]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,97753,00.html

Isabel was blamed for nine deaths in Virginia, two in Maryland and one each in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and New Jersey.

[GalvestonDuck]

And from CNN.com (yes, I said CNN):

ISABEL'S IMPACT

Deaths blamed on Isabel
Virginia - 8
Maryland - 2
North Carolina - 2
New Jersey - 1
Pennsylvania - 1
New York - 1
Rhode Island - 1

Customers without power
(8 a.m. EDT)
Virginia -- 1,600,000
Maryland -- 1,250,000
North Carolina -- 525,000
Pennsylvania -- 500,000
New Jersey -- 160,000
Delaware -- 50,000
West Virginia -- 21,000

Source: Emergency and utility officials