Deaths, Outages In Isabel's Wake

Hurricane Isabel was downgraded to a tropical depression on Friday, a day after pounding the East Coast with heavy rain and ferocious wind, leaving death and destruction in its wake.

The storm knocked out power to more than 4.5 million people and was blamed for at least 17 deaths: nine in Virginia, three in North Carolina, two in Maryland and one each in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Rhode Island.

After plowing into North Carolina's Outer Banks with 100 mph winds Thursday, Isabel moved across Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania on Friday as its winds eased to around 35 mph — just below the threshold for a tropical storm. The storm dumped as much as 4 inches of rain in Pennsylvania before moving toward Ohio, and was expected to dissipate in Canada by Saturday.

In their final coordinates for the dissolving storm, the National Weather service put the remnants of Isabel about 50 miles northeast of Cleveland, moving north at around 30 mph.

For North Carolina coastal residents, it's the day after the big storm, a chance to look at the damage and start cleaning up.

CBS News Correspondent Stacy Case, in Kill Devil Hills, N.C., said first light brought the first glimpse of Isabel's devastation as residents along the Outer Banks emerged to see what's left.

"I've been here 40 years and it looks like we survived," said one man.

At least two fishing piers were destroyed by the crashing waves, and storm surge flooding also wrecked several beach houses, sending washers, dryers, trash cans and other debris floating into the street. Federal officials were checking on about 4,000 people who refused to evacuate.

Parts of Washington, D.C., and Baltimore are knee-deep in the mess left by Isabel, reports CBS News Correspondent Jennifer Miller, and just getting around is one of the biggest problems.

In Alexandria, Va., overnight water levels near the Potomac River reached 9- to 10-feet high.

"We have a critical situation going on," said Mayor Bill Euille.

Waist-deep floodwaters were also lapping against homes and buildings in Baltimore County, Maryland, where rescuers evacuated more than 30 people by boat.

In Washington, thousands of residents were without lights, hundreds of trees littered the landscape and all three branches of government were basically shut down.

President Bush remained at his secluded mountaintop retreat in Maryland and members of Congress for the most part stayed out of town.

Tourists began emerging from their hotels at midmorning under bright sunny skies. Most of those gathered outside the White House saw no major damage and wondered why the monuments and so many businesses in the city remained shuttered for a second day.

The storm spared many areas the worst. West Virginia got up to 5½ inches of rain — but far less than the original forecast of a foot. Flood advisories for parts of the state were canceled.

Delaware, too, was spared much of the damage that officials feared. Rainfall amounts averaged 1 to 2 inches, about half of what forecasters were predicting.

Michael Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, cautioned that residents in Isabel's path should keep their guard up, with flood waters moving into tributaries throughout the day. "So people just because they see blue skies should not think, 'Oh this storm is gone and the aftermath is over with,"' he said.

Some of the worst flooding Thursday was along the Chesapeake Bay, where an 8.2-foot storm surge sent water into low-lying areas, particularly in Norfolk and Portsmouth.

About 1.6 million customers lost power in Virginia alone, and more than 16,000 people filled evacuation shelters. An official at Dominion Virginia Power said it would take days to restore power.

"Virginians need to realize that they're in for a tough couple of days," said Gov. Mark R. Warner.

In Virginia Beach, Ed Barry, 61, spent Friday morning picking up shingles from his roof from his yard in the resort city's north end. He also lost part of his wood fence in his back yard.

"That's the price you pay for living on the coastline," Barry said.

Water service was lost or diminished in many areas because pumping stations lost power; residents were advised to boil water before drinking it.

Richard Staublein, 42, drove his family 13 miles for their first meal in a day, a breakfast at McDonald's in a Richmond suburb — and waited 50 minutes in a line that spilled into the parking lot. Many in line had not eaten because they lost power and were unable to cook.

"I left the house around 8 a.m. and when I got here the line was already a killer," Staublein said.

President Bush declared major disasters in North Carolina and Virginia, ordering federal aid to both states. The governors of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey and Delaware declared state emergencies.

Well over 1,500 flights were canceled at airports in the major Eastern cities, said David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association.

With mid-Atlantic states left sodden by an unusually wet summer, the winds toppled trees and rains flooded creeks and low-lying areas.

Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich said flooding, whether from storm surges on the Eastern Shore or heavy rainfall, was "the No. 1 danger." Officials said 1.25 million customers were without power in the state.