Remembering Disastrous Hurricane Isabel: 10 Years Later

Ten years ago this week, Hurricane Isabel dealt a massive blow to Anne Arundel County and caused historic damage to downtown Annapolis.

Hurricane Isabel struck the Mid-Atlantic region between Sept. 18-19, 2003. 
With 500 miles of shoreline, Anne Arundel County was among the hardest hit counties in the state, according to a report from the county's Office of Emergency Management.

Watch a YouTube video of the aftermath of Hurricane Isabel.

During the storm the county sustained a record high number of power outages, numbering 196,000 out of 230,000 customers in the region.

A total of 15 local businesses and more than 570 homes were declared uninhabitable from major flood damage, according to the report. There were approximately 100 structural collapses throughout the county.

That weekend, photographer Roy DeBoer was in town visiting his son, a midshipman in the U.S. Naval Academy. During his visit, he captured the destruction caused by Isabel in downtown Annapolis on camera. 

The City Dock area became a giant swimming pool. Local residents kayaked and canoed through the streets.

DeBoer's photo gallery can be seen online at Smugmug.com.

"That was one crazy weekend," said DeBoer."

Editor's note: Years after the storm, meteorologists reclassified the storm as Tropical Cyclone Isabel due to the amount of damage caused.