Hurricane-strength wind gusts of up to 85 mph reached the Outer Banks of North Carolina as Hurricane Isabel moved ashore over the US east coast on this today, weather forecasters said.
The US National Hurricane Center said Isabel's eyewall, the dense wall of storm surrounding the eye, had begun to pass over the Outer Banks island chain, with the strongest gust so far recorded at Ocracoke, North Carolina.
The center of the hurricane, which was carrying sustained maximum winds of up to 100 mph, was about 55 miles south of Cape Hatteras and the eye was expected to cross near there early this afternoon. Forecasters said the huge storm would move northward into Virginia and spread over West Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania by tomorrow.
Around 200,000 people in coastal areas of North Carolina and Virginia were ordered to evacuate or risk getting trapped by flooding from storm surges up to 11 feet (3.3 metres).
US Airways canceled hundreds of flights and Amtrak halted virtually all train service south of Washington. Other airlines advised passengers to check for cancellations and delays.
US President George W. Bush left the capital by helicopter for his Camp David retreat yesterday evening, a day early, to beat the storm. He is meeting Jordan's King Abdullah there later today.
Isabel's hurricane-force winds extend 115 miles from its centre. Forecasters said it could dump 10 inches of rain on a region saturated from months of above-normal rainfall.
Isabel was a strong Category 2 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale measuring hurricanes' destructive power. Category 2 storms can badly damage mobile homes and roofs, rip down power lines and cell phone towers and block roads with felled trees and utility poles.