Log In


Reset Password
  • MENU
    Nation
    Friday, May 10, 2024

    Tropical Storm Isaias whips up eastern U.S., killing at least 5

    Boats are piled on each other at the Southport Marina following the effects of Hurricane Isaias in Southport, N.C., Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

    WINDSOR, N.C. (AP) —  At least five people were killed as Tropical Storm Isaias spawned tornadoes and dumped rain Tuesday along the U.S. East Coast after making landfall as a hurricane in North Carolina, where it caused floods and fires that displaced dozens of people.

    Two people died when Isaias spun off a tornado that struck a North Carolina mobile home park. Another person died in Pennsylvania when their vehicle was overtaken by water and swept downstream. Two others were killed by falling trees toppled by the storm in Maryland and New York City, authorities said.

    Isaias sustained top winds of up to 65 mph more than 18 hours after coming ashore, but it was down to 50 mph max winds as of 8 p.m. EDT Tuesday, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm's center was passing through the middle of Vermont, moving north-northeast at about 40 mph.

    As Isaias sped northward, flooding threats followed. The Schuylkill River in Philadelphia was projected to crest early Wednesday at 15.4 feet, its highest level in more than 150 years. By Tuesday night, the river had already topped its banks in low-lying Manayunk, turning bar-lined Main Street into a coffee-colored canal.

    Aerial video by WRAL-TV showed fields of debris where rescue workers in brightly colored shirts picked through splintered boards and other wreckage of the Windsor, N.C., mobile home park where two people were killed. Emergency responders searching the area Tuesday afternoon found no other casualties, and several people initially feared missing had all been accounted for, said Ron Wesson, chairman of the Bertie County Board of Commissioners. He said about 12 people were hospitalized.

    “It doesn’t look real; it looks like something on TV. Nothing is there,” Bertie County Sheriff John Holley told reporters, saying 10 mobile homes had been destroyed. “All my officers are down there at this time. Pretty much the entire trailer park is gone.”

    In eastern Pennsylvania, a 44-year-old Allentown woman was killed after encountering high waters on a street in Upper Saucon Township that swept her vehicle downstream Tuesday afternoon, the Lehigh County coroner’s office said.

    While in New York City, a massive tree fell and crushed a van in the Briarwood section of Queens, killing Mario Siles, a 60-year-old construction contractor who was inside the vehicle, police said. A woman in Mechanicsville, Md., died when a tree crashed onto her car during stormy conditions, said Cpl. Julie Yingling of the St. Mary’s County sheriff’s office.

    Isaias toggled between hurricane and tropical storm strength as it churned toward the East Coast. Fueled by warm ocean waters, the storm got a late burst of strength as a rejuvenated hurricane with top sustained winds of 85 mph before coming ashore late Monday near Ocean Isle Beach, N.C. Its tropical storm status was sustained, but weakened, as it headed north toward Canada early Tuesday night.

    Before making landfall late Monday, Isaias killed two people in the Caribbean and battered the Bahamas before brushing past Florida.

    Tornadoes were confirmed by the National Weather Service in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey. Power outages also spread as trees fell, with more than 3.7 million customers losing electricity across multiple states as of 8:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday, according to PowerOutage.US, which tracks utility reports. New York City's power utility said it saw more outages from Isaias than from any storm except Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

    In Doylestown, Pa., officials said four children were treated for minor injuries after high winds partially tore the roof off a day care center. Also in the Philadelphia suburbs, rescue workers in Delaware County were searching for a young person who fell or jumped into the fast-moving water of a swollen creek, said Timothy Boyce, the county emergency services director.

    In New York City, fierce wind and rain forced the Staten Island ferry and outdoor subway lines to shut down. The New Jersey Turnpike banned car-pulled trailers and motorcycles.

    Some of the worst damage Tuesday seemed to be east and north of where the hurricane’s eye struck land in North Carolina.

    “Fortunately, this storm was fast-moving and has already left our state," Gov. Roy Cooper said Tuesday afternoon.

    In North Myrtle Beach, S.C., the storm sent waves crashing over the Sea Cabin Pier late Monday, causing a big section to collapse into the water as startled bystanders taking photos from the pier scrambled back to land.

    “I'm shocked it's still standing,” said Dean Burris, who watched from the balcony of a vacation rental.

    The Hurricane Center had warned oceanside dwellers near the North Carolina-South Carolina state line to brace for storm surge up to 5 feet and up to 8 inches of rain.

    Eileen and David Hubler were out early Tuesday cleaning up in North Myrtle Beach, where 4 feet of storm surge flooded cars, unhinged docks and etched a water line into the side of their home.

    “When the water started coming, it did not stop,” Eileen Hubler said. They had moved most items of value to their second floor, but a mattress and washing machine were unexpected storm casualties.

    “We keep thinking we’ve learned our lesson,” she said. “And each time there’s a hurricane, we learn a new lesson.”

    ------

    Morgan reported from North Myrtle Beach, S.C. Associated Press contributors include science writer Seth Borenstein in Kensington, Md.; Gerry Broome in Southport, N.C.; Jonathan Drew in Durham, N.C.; Michelle Liu in Columbia, S.C.; Michael Kunzelman in College Park, Md.; Bruce Shipkowski in Toms River, N.J.; Shawn Marsh in Trenton, N.J.; and Michael Sisak in New York.

    ------

    Bryan Anderson is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.”

    New York City police officers shield a person from view who died after a tree fell on a van as Tropical Storm Isaias moved past New York, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
    A Philadelphia police officer rushes to help a stranded motorist during Tropical Storm Isaias, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020, in Philadelphia. The storm spawned tornadoes and dumped rain during an inland march up the U.S. East Coast after making landfall as a hurricane along the North Carolina coast. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
    Residents survey the damages along the waterfront following the effects of Hurricane Isaias in Southport, N.C., Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
    In this aerial photo boats are stacked on top of each other in the Southport Marina Tuesday Aug. 4, 2020 in Southport N.C., after Tropical Storm Isaias came ashore over night in Brunswick County. (Ken Blevins/Wilmington Star-News via AP)
    Residents begin to clean up following the effects of Hurricane Isaias in Southport, N.C., Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
    Crews use chainsaws to cut down fallen trees in the Riverview neighborhood of Suffolk, Va., after Hurricane Isaias moved through the region Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020. (Jonathon Gruenke/The Daily Press via AP)
    Several homes in Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., burned as Tropical Storm Isaias came ashore Tuesday Aug. 4, 2020, in Brunswick County. Isaias toggled between hurricane and tropical storm strength as it churned toward the East Coast. Fueled by warm ocean waters, the storm got a late burst of strength as a rejuvenated hurricane with top sustained winds of 85 mph before coming ashore late Monday near Ocean Isle Beach. (Ken Blevins/Wilmington Star-News via AP)

    Comment threads are monitored for 48 hours after publication and then closed.