It could have been worse, but it was bad enough. That would be a sensible conclusion after Hurricane Isabel swept ashore in North Carolina. Isabel was huge - the size of Colorado - and only days before reaching land, its winds exceeded 155 mph. By the time it made it to the Outer Banks, however, Isabel had declined from a category 5 hurricane to category 2, with winds of 100 mph. Bad enough.
There were lessons for Floridians in this storm. Even with extremely accurate predictions of the hurricane's path and plenty of warning, the threat is no less great. At least 17 deaths have been attributed to Isabel, so far, and the worst of the flooding has yet to arrive. Carl Bergeron, who grew up in Florida but now lives in Washington, had time to reflect as he prepared for the storm. "It is one of the few events that you know is coming, but you really have no control over it," he said.
In truth, the government has some control. It could try harder to limit construction in coastal areas, but usually chooses not to. Although North Carolina's barrier islands are less heavily developed than Florida's, even that state has allowed four-story "beach castles," as the locals call the luxury homes, to proliferate in recent years. All of us will pay for such negligent growth with higher insurance premiums or tax-financed bailouts.
When the property damage is finally totalled, it will be a staggering figure. Isabel didn't have near the destructive force of Andrew, but unrestrained coastal growth and rising property values make even an average storm an expensive hit. Imagine the cost if another serious storm hits one of Florida's populated areas.
North Carolina's evacuation efforts were mostly effective. A day before Isabel struck, the area's main highway from the beach was deserted because most residents had not waited until the last minute to flee. Compare that with the disorderly response to Hurricane Floyd four years ago. More than a million Florida residents choked the interstates and were trapped in their cars for hours, avoiding harm only because Floyd bypassed the state (more than 40 died in North Carolina). It is still not clear that Florida has a workable evacuation plan for congested coastal areas.
Even when a hurricane proves to be less than feared, it brings plenty of misery. Isabel left 4.5-million people without electricity, canceled more than 1,500 airplane flights and shut down federal offices in Washington. Floridians can commiserate with their neighbors to the north and prepare for when a hurricane by a different name could take a different turn.
