Looking back: Hurricane Isabel

Visitors watch flags blow in the wind around at the Washington Monument Thursday morning, Sept. 18, 2003, as Hurricane Isabel begins to affect the Washington area. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

A cleanup crew loads sandbags in the blowing wind and rain on the oceanfront in Virginia Beach, Va., Thursday Sept. 18, 2003. Hurricane Isabel is expected to make landfall later in the day. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

AP Photo/Steve Helber

Toll booths for the Bay Bridge at Sandy Point, Md., are vacant, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2003. Ferocious winds, a result of Hurricane Isabel, closed the Bay Bridge and caused power outages affecting 160,000 to 170,000 customers, the Maryland Emergency Management Agency said. (AP Photo/Don Wright)

AP Photo/Don Wright

A tattered American Flag flaps in the strong wind and rain of Hurricane Isabel in the Sandbridge area of Virginia Beach, Va., Thursday Sept. 18, 2003. Hurricane Isabel is expected to make landfall later in the day. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

AP Photo/Steve Helber

Darrell Morgan shields his face from the rain as he walks through flood water to clear debris around his marina in Atlantic Beach, N.C. as Hurricane Isabel makes landfall nearby on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2003. (AP Photo/Alan Marler)

AP Photo/Alan Marler

A wind surfer takes advantage of the wind as he passes the Washington Monument on the Potomac River in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2003, as the Washington area begins to feel the effects of Hurricane Isabel. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

Jack Pierce, 38, of High Point, NC., takes a moment to swing on a playground set next to the Triple S Pier in Atlantic Beach, N.C., on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2003. At rear his brother Scott, 32, walks along the beach and watches the waves crash against the pier as Hurricane Isabel approaches landfall. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

AP Photo/Dave Martin

The overflowing Tidal Basin covers a walkway across from the Jefferson Memorial in Washington Friday, Sept. 19, 2003 in the aftermath of Hurricane Isabel. Washington suffered from a rare power vacuum Friday. Thousands of residents were without lights, hundreds of trees littered the landscape and all three branches of government were basically shut down. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

**TRANSMITTED AS AN ALTERNATE CROP**The tide is certainly in, as a man in flood waters over his waist takes photographs of the flooding in Baltimore's Fells Point Friday, Sept. 19, 2003, where Hurricane Isabel caused much of the city's downtown area to flood. In the background is Tide Point, an office complex.(AP Photo/ Steve Ruark)

The tide is certainly in, as a man in flood waters over his waist takes photographs of the flooding in Baltimore’s Fells Point Friday, Sept. 19, 2003, where Hurricane Isabel caused much of the city’s downtown area to flood. In the background is Tide Point, an office complex. (AP Photo/ Steve Ruark)

AP Photo/ Steve Ruark

Using an awning to hold their shoes, people gather in front of a flooded store in downtown Annapolis, Md., Friday, Sept. 19, 2003. Rising tides fed by high winds and rains from Isabel pushed water inland to low-lying areas around the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River early Friday, flooding homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

AP Photo/Susan Walsh

Dozens of people gather in flooded downtown Annapolis, Md., Friday, Sept. 19, 2003, to see the water damage from Hurricane Isabel. Rising tides fed by high winds and rains from Isabel pushed water inland to low-lying areas around the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River early Friday, flooding homes and businesses. Tidal surges up to 7 feet were expected in some areas of southern Maryland, where high tides began late in the night. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

AP Photo/Susan Walsh

Dozens of people gather in flooded downton Annapolis, Md., Friday, Sept. 19, 2003, to see the water damage from Hurricane Isabel. Rising tides fed by high winds and rains from Isabel pushed water inland to low-lying areas around the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River early Friday, flooding homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

AP Photo/Susan Walsh

Levi Sabir, of Willoughby Spit, talks on a cellphone to a Red Cross official as he tries to recover belongings from his destroyed ground floor apartment in Norfolk, Va., Friday Sept. 19, 2003. Sabir and his wife were not in the apartment when Hurricane Isabel destroyed it. The storm battered the area leaving over 3.5 million people without power. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

AP Photo/Steve Helber

Flood waters surround homes in Buxton, N.C., Friday Sept. 19, 2003 after flooding from Hurricane Isabel. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

AP Photo/Chuck Burton

Local residents walk over a section of Harrison fishing pier that washed ashore on the beach in the Ocean View area of Norfolk, Va., Friday Sept. 19, 2003. The pier was built in the 1940’s and was destroyed by Hurricane Isabel. The storm battered the area leaving over 3.5 million people without power. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

AP Photo/Steve Helber

Historic downtown Annapolis, Md., is flooded from rain and the tidal surge from Hurricane Isabel, Friday, Sept. 19, 2003. Rising tides fed by high winds and rains from Isabel pushed water inland to low-lying areas around the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River early Friday, flooding homes and businesses. Tidal surges up to 7 feet were expected in some areas of southern Maryland, where high tides began late in the night. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

AP Photo/Susan Walsh

Mark Bateman, left, and Sveinn Storm, right, take a morning boat ride through a flooded downton Annapolis, Friday, Sept. 19, 2003. Storm’s ice cream store in Annapolis was totally flooded as the rain and storm surge from Hurricane Isabel pushed water into low-lying areas. Tidal surges up to 7 feet were expected in some areas of southern Maryland, where high tides began late in the night. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

AP Photo/Susan Walsh

A tree and power pole rest on a house Friday, Sept. 19, 2003, after being toppled by winds from Hurricane Isabel in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria, Va. President Bush declared a major disaster in Virginia, where high wind knocked out power for more than 1.6 million customers. (AP Photo/Tom Horan)

AP Photo/Tom Horan

Water covers the streets around the Inner Harbor after downtown Baltimore was flooded by Hurricane Isabel Friday, Sept. 19, 2003. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)

AP Photo/Gail Burton

Three fallen trees lie near a house in Northwest Washington Friday, Sept. 19, 2003, a day after Hurricane Isabel hit the area. Washington suffered from a rare power vacuum Friday. Thousands of residents were without lights, hundreds of trees littered the landscape and all three branches of government were basically shut down. (AP Photo/Charles Tasnadi)

AP Photo/Charles Tasnadi

Children pull a boat in front of a water-plowing car in a street in Crisfield, Md., Friday, Sept. 19, 2003, where streets were flooded following Hurricane Isabel. (AP Photo/George Widman)

AP Photo/George Widman

Standing water remains around these homes near Kill Devil Hills, N.C., Friday, Sept. 19, 2003, in this photo taken from the helicoptor which gave North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley a tour of the area hit by Hurricane Isabel. (AP Photo/Karen Tam)

AP Photo/Karen Tam

A passerby looks at a large navigation buoy which was beached by the winds and surf of Hurricane Isabel near Rudee Inlet in Virginia Beach, Va., Friday morning Sept. 19, 2003. Hurricane Isabel blew through the area Thursday causing damage on the North Carolina and Virginia coasts. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)

AP Photo/Stephan Savoia

Keith Franks, manager of Hats In The Belfry, reports on the water damage to his store on King Street in Alexandia, Va., Friday, Sept. 19, 2003. The Potomac River surged beyond its banks and flooded some shoreside streets in Alexandria, where thousands of sandbags were handed out by the city due to the effects of Hurricane Isabel. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

AP Photo/Kevin Wolf

Maryland State Highway crews and employees of R&K Tree services remove downed trees Friday, Sept. 19, 2003 along Maryland 77 west of Thurmont, Md., in the aftermath of Hurricane Isabel. The 10-mile section of mountainous road near Camp David was one of only a few hard hit areas in Frederick County. (AP Photo/Timothy Jacobsen)

AP Photo/Timothy Jacobsen

Pepco employees help distribute dry ice to local residents from the parking lot of RFK Stadium in Washington, Friday, Sept. 19, 2003, after Tropical Storm Isabel knocked out power to some 531,000 customers in the District of Columbia; Montgomery County, Md., and Prince George’s County, Md. Pepco ran out of ice at some distribution sites saying there was only one dry ice producer in the region, and their power was out most of the day. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)

AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson

Local residents walk around a section of Harrison fishing pier that washed ashore on the beach in the Ocean View area of Norfolk, Va., Friday Sept. 19, 2003. The pier was built in the 1940’s and was destroyed by Hurricane Isabel. The storm battered the area leaving over 3.5 million people without power. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

AP Photo/Steve Helber

Tyler Lavigne, 5,left, of Washington, crawls on a tree that was blown over by Hurricane Isabel , Friday, Sept. 19, 2003 in Washington. The capital city suffered from a rare power vacuum Friday. Thousands of residents were without lights, hundreds of trees littered the landscape and all three branches of government were basically shut down. Lights were out at the Supreme Court and federal offices; President Bush remained at his secluded mountaintop retreat in Maryland and members of Congress for the most part stayed out of town. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

Southeast Washington residents and their children survey a fallen tree from Hurricane Isabel Friday, Sept. 19, 2003. The capital city suffered from a rare power vacuum Friday. Thousands of residents were without lights, hundreds of trees littered the landscape and all three branches of government were basically shut down. Lights were out at the Supreme Court and federal offices; President Bush remained at his secluded mountaintop retreat in Maryland and members of Congress for the most part stayed out of town. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

A man stands amidst damage to a home from Hurricane Isabel, which passed through the Church View, Va. area yesterday, on the banks of the Rappahannock River, Friday, Sept. 19, 2003. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

AP Photo/Gerald Herbert

The day after fighting the flood waters of Hurricane Isabel, an uncertain Sveinn Storm, left, stands in the doorway of his ice cream shop on Annapolis City Dock Friday Sept. 19, 2003 in Annapolis, Md. With Isabel being his fourth storm since opening the shop, Storm is unable to get flood insurance. (AP Photo/Don Wright)

AP Photo/Don Wright

A tree, that fell through this trailer near Parksley, Va. killing one resident Thursday night during high winds from Hurricane Isabel, is seen on Friday Sept. 19, 2003. (AP Photo/Scott Neville)

AP Photo/Scott Neville