Tropic storm Isaias whips up eastern US, killing at least 6

The private Sea Cabins pier is seen damaged following Hurricane Isaias, in North Myrtle Beach, S.C., Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020. (Jason Lee/The Sun News via AP)

At least six 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, and a sixth person died in Delaware when a tree branch fell on them, authorities said.

Isaias sustained top winds of up to 65 mph (105 kph) more than 18 hours after coming ashore, but it was down to 45 mph max winds as of 10:50 p.m. EDT Tuesday, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm’s center was about 45 miles southeast of Montreal, moving northeast into Canada at about 38 mph (61 kph).

As Isaias sped northward, flooding threats followed. The Schuylkill River in Philadelphia was projected to crest early Wednesday at 15.4 feet (4.7 meters), 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.

Tropic storm Isaias whips up eastern US, killing at least 6
People walk Cherry Grove Point at dawn looking at debris scattered by Hurricane Isaias in North Myrtle Beach, S.C. Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020. (Jason Lee/The Sun News via AP)

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, North Carolina, 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.

Tropic storm Isaias whips up eastern US, killing at least 6
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)

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, Maryland, died when a tree crashed onto her car during stormy conditions, said Cpl. Julie Yingling of the St. Mary’s County sheriff’s office.

In Delaware, authorities said a woman was outside assessing storm damage when she was hit and killed by a falling tree branch.

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 (136 km/h) before coming ashore late Monday near Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. Its tropical storm status was sustained, but weakened, as it headed north into Canada on Tuesday night.

Tropic storm Isaias whips up eastern US, killing at least 6
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)

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 10:15 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, Pennsylvania, 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.

Tropic storm Isaias whips up eastern US, killing at least 6
A pier shows damages following the effects of Hurricane Isaias in Southport, N.C., Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

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, South Carolina, 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 (1.5 meters) and up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) of rain.

  • Tropic storm Isaias whips up eastern US, killing at least 6
    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)
  • Tropic storm Isaias whips up eastern US, killing at least 6
    People look over their home in Oak Island, N.C. after Hurricane Isaisas came ashore Tuesday night Aug. 4, 2020 in Brunswick County as a category 1 hurricane. The storm cause damage along all of the southern beaches like Ocean Isle Beach, Holden Beach, Oak Island and Southport. (Ken Blevins/The Star-News via AP)
  • Tropic storm Isaias whips up eastern US, killing at least 6
    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)
  • Tropic storm Isaias whips up eastern US, killing at least 6
    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 (136 km/h) before coming ashore late Monday near Ocean Isle Beach. (Ken Blevins/Wilmington Star-News via AP)
  • Tropic storm Isaias whips up eastern US, killing at least 6
    Residents begin to clean up following the effects of Hurricane Isaias in Southport, N.C., Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
  • Tropic storm Isaias whips up eastern US, killing at least 6
    Suffolk Police survey damage to building along Saratoga Street in Suffolk, Va., after Hurricane Isaias moved through the region Tuesday morning, August 4, 2020. (Jonathon Gruenke/The Daily Press via AP)
  • Tropic storm Isaias whips up eastern US, killing at least 6
    Royce Potter, a fifth generation seafood farmer, suveys the damage to his fishing vessel following the effects of Hurricane Isaias in Southport, N.C., Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020. Potter spent the night on his docked boat. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
  • Tropic storm Isaias whips up eastern US, killing at least 6
    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)
  • Tropic storm Isaias whips up eastern US, killing at least 6
    In this aerial photo boats and docks are washed together along the marsh near Southport, N.C. as Tropical Storm Isaias came ashore Tuesday night Aug. 4, 2020 in Brunswick County. The storm caused damage along all of the southern beaches like Ocean Isle Beach, Holden Beach, Oak Island and Southport. (Ken Blevins/Wilmington Star-News via AP)
  • Tropic storm Isaias whips up eastern US, killing at least 6
    Residents survey the damage following the effects of Hurricane Isaias in Southport, N.C., Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
  • Tropic storm Isaias whips up eastern US, killing at least 6
    A tree uprooted by high winds lays on a fence in Brooklyn Heights Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020, in New York as Tropical Storm Isaias is expected to hit the Northeastern U.S. (AP Photo/David Crary)
  • Tropic storm Isaias whips up eastern US, killing at least 6
    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)
  • Tropic storm Isaias whips up eastern US, killing at least 6
    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)
  • Tropic storm Isaias whips up eastern US, killing at least 6
    A person walks along the shoreline as a earthmover prepares sand along the beach Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020, in Atlantic City, N.J. Tropical Storm Isaias spawned tornadoes and dumped rain during an inland march up the U.S. East Coast, including New Jersey, on Tuesday after making landfall as a hurricane along the North Carolina coast. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Larma)
  • Tropic storm Isaias whips up eastern US, killing at least 6
    Joseph Watson gathers a few belongings from a storage shed that was destroyed when a tornado touched down in Windsor, N.C. during the early hours of Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020. (Stephen M. Katz/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)
  • Tropic storm Isaias whips up eastern US, killing at least 6
    New York City Police and Parks employees work to remove a person who died when 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)

Eileen and David Hubler were out early Tuesday cleaning up in North Myrtle Beach, where 4 feet (1.2 meters) 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.”


Tropical Storm Isaias drives wild weather up Interstate 95


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Tropic storm Isaias whips up eastern US, killing at least 6 (2020, August 5)
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