HURRICANE ISABEL

Hurricanes can turn into a devastating tragedy. Let's talk about Hurricane Isabel and it's major impact.


Map of Hurricane Isabel

This map demonstrates where Hurricane Isabel first hit landfall on September 18, 2003, as well as where it traveled. This event turned into a terrible tragedy that took over 50 lives and caused over $5 billion in damages. Hurricane Isabel was very big and powerful. It caused damage all across the east coast, but caused the most damage in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington D.C.


Hurricane Isabel

Hurricane Isabel developed on September 1, 2003 from tropical waves that were moving off the African coast. After hurricanes were formed on September 7, 2003, it was then determined that there was a hurricane. Hurricane Isabel breezed through category 2 and 3 on the hurricane wind scale. It remained at category 4, but the wind speed became very strong (165 mph) taking Hurricane Isabel up to category 5 on September 14, which makes the intensity of the hurricane very high. The intensity decreased and Hurricane Isabel was back at category 2, but made landfall at Outer Banks on September 18, 2003.


Remembering Hurricane Isabel: The Aftermath

Hurricane Isabel is the second major hurricane to cause severe damage. Federal disasters were declared for North Carolina counties, and the cost of damages were over $600 million in North Carolina and Virginia. There were people stranded in North Carolina and non residents weren't able to travel to Outer Banks due to the roads being damaged by this hurricane. Thousands of homes were destroyed across the east coast. Electric service was disrupted for weeks and a lot of areas that were hit became flooded. This caused thousands of dollars in damage. Hurricane Isabel was very deadly, causing 51 deaths. 17 of those death's were related to the hurricane. Government officials declared states of emergency as they tried to rebuild what Hurricane Isabel had destroyed.


Damages throughout the east coast caused by Hurricane Isabel

Repair crews across the east coast were working together to restore electric services after Hurricane Isabel. Over 2 million people in both Virginia and North Carolina lost power. There was severe damage after the storm, and it took about a month for people to gain their electricity back. Over 700 electricity crews were working over 12 hour shifts to help solve this problem. Virginia Institute of Marine Science worked to restore and rebuild areas that were affected by Hurricane Isabel. City officials in Virginia activated emergency operations for disasters like this and they are in collaboration with many other organizations to help ensure protective actions for the city. This hurricane was completely devastating and very much of the east coast has been completely destroyed, but now most of these cities have made plans and provided additional information for the public to be aware and better understand what to do in case of serious hazards like Hurricane Isabel.

CITATIONS

Hurricane Isabel National Hurricane Center, www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL132003_Isabel.pdf. Accessed 15 Oct. 2023. 

“Mesoscale Meteorology Posters.” Mesoscale Meteorology Posters - Atmospheric Science, louisville.edu/atmosphericscience/students/current-students/severe-weather-posters. Accessed 14 Oct. 2023. 

“2003- Hurricane Isabel.” Hurricanes, hurricanescience.org/history/storms/2000s/isabel/#:~:text=The%20highest%20observed%20wind%20speeds,afternoon%20of%20September%2018%2C%202003. Accessed 14 Oct. 2023. 

US Department of Commerce, NOAA. “Isabel Anniversary.” National Weather Service, NOAA’s National Weather Service, 26 Oct. 2013, www.weather.gov/mhx/Isabel. 

Hurricane Isabel