US authorities airliftedrelief supplies as communities along the East Coast begana massive clean-up after Hurricane Isabel, butstorm victims said it would take months to recover.
President George W Bush signed disaster declarations forNorth Carolina, Virginia and Maryland, the hardest-hit areas,opening the way for federal aid.
Washington, which closed down for two days in the face ofthe storm, was also declared a disaster area.
With homes and businesses still struggling in the face oflingering flood waters and lack of electricity, the death tollrose to 26, officials said, with three more fatalities reportedin Virginia on Saturday.
Emergency crews working around the clock have restoredelectricity to three million East Coast homes and businesses,about half the number knocked out by Isabel, utilities said.
The Department of Homeland Security said it sent more than70 truckloads of emergency supplies to hard-hit areas.
Virginia Govenor Mr Mark Warner, Homeland Security Secretary Mr TomRidge and Virginia Senators Mr George Allen and Mr John Warner surveyedthe damage in Poquoson, Virginia, a town on the Chesapeake Baythat was hit by flooding and high winds.
Local people said flood waters were knee-deep in someplaces. Along neighborhood curbs, residents piled damagedfurniture, beds and carpeting.
Flooding affected the cities of Baltimore, Annapolis andAlexandria, and at Langley Air Force Base in southeasternVirginia, the storm surge flooded a parking lot and broughtmarine life with it.
Officials said more flooding was expected along the Potomacriver today.
The hurricane hit hardest when it made its landfall onNorth Carolina's Outer Banks, a barrier island chain that loopsout into the Atlantic.