US east coast braces as Isaias regains hurricane strength

Coastal residents secured patio furniture and ferry operators completed evacuations on the Outer Banks as Hurricane Isaias moved northwards, forecast to bring heavy rain and flash flooding to the Carolinas.

The US National Hurricane Centre told oceanside home dwellers to brace for storm surges up to 1.5 metres and up to 20 centimetres of rain in places, as Isaias moved up the coast.

“All those rains could produce flash flooding across portions of the eastern Carolinas and mid-Atlantic, and even in the north-east US,” said Daniel Brown, senior specialist at the US National Hurricane Centre.

A tropical storm warning extended all the way up to Maine, where flash flooding was possible in some areas today.

Isaias was upgraded from a tropical storm to a Category 1 hurricane on Monday. It had killed two people in the Caribbean and roughed up the Bahamas but remained at sea as it brushed past Florida over the weekend.

The centre of Isaias was well offshore as it passed the coast of Georgia on Monday.

President Donald Trump described Isaias as “very serious”.

“Storm surge and inland flooding are possible, and everyone needs to remain vigilant until it passes,” Mr Trump said.

Authorities in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, ordered swimmers out of the water to avoid rough surf and strong rip currents.

By sunset on Monday, power began to flicker at beachfront hotels as Isaias crossed the last bit of warm water in its path as it headed for the US mainland.

Officials in frequently flooded Charleston, South Carolina, handed out sandbags and opened multistorey car parks so residents on the low-lying peninsula could stow their cars above ground.

The centre of Isaias passed about 80km off Charleston on Monday evening.

Up the coast, the NHC predicted storm surges of 900 centimetres to 1.5 metres as Isaias moved onshore.