Isaias pounds East Coast, killing four
Hits N.C. as hurricane; massive flooding likely
WINDSOR, N.C. — At least four people were killed as Tropical
Storm Isaias spawned tornadoes and dumped rain Tuesday along the 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. Authorities said two others were killed by falling trees toppled by the storm in Maryland and New York City.
More than 15 hours after coming ashore, Isaias still had sustained top winds of 65 mph. At 2 p.m. EDT
Tuesday, the storm’s center was about 65 miles west of New York
City, where winds forced the Staten Island ferry and outdoor subway lines to shut down.
As Isaias sped northward at 40 mph, the National Hurricane Center warned of potentially life-threatening flooding around Philadelphia and other points along the I-95 corridor.
Two people died after a tornado demolished several mobile homes in Windsor, North Carolina. Emergency responders finished searching the wreckage Tuesday. They found no other casualties, and several people initially feared missing had all been accounted for, said Ron Wesson of the Bertie County Board of Commissioners. He said about 12 people were hospitalized.
Sharee and Jeffrey Stilwell took shelter in their living room about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday as the tornado tore through Windsor. Sharee Stillwell said their home shook “like a freight train.”
“I felt like the house was going to cave in,” said Jeffrey Stillwell, 65, though once the storm passed, the couple found only a few damaged shingles and fallen tree branches in the yard.
A mobile home park less than 2 miles away wasn’t so fortunate. Aerial video by WRAL-TV showed fields of debris where rescue workers in brightly colored shirts picked through splintered boards and other wreckage. Nearby, a vehicle was flipped onto its roof.
In New York City, a massive tree crushed a van in the Briarwood section of Queens, killing a man inside, 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.