the southeastern Florida coastline; wave heights peaked at 14 feet (4.3 m) at Delray Beach. The swells capsized a watercraft and injured its two passengers at Boynton Beach, and a swimmer required assistance to be rescued near Juno Beach. Minor beach erosion was reported in Palm Beach County. In the northern portion of the state, waves reached up to 15 feet (4.5 m) in height at Flagler Beach, causing the Flagler Beach Pier to be closed due to damaged boards from the waves. Rip currents from Isabel killed a surfer at an unguarded beach in Nassau County, with an additional six people requiring rescue from the currents. The beaches were later closed during the worst of the rough surf. In northeastern South Carolina, the outer rainbands produced moderate winds reaching 45 mph (72 km/h) at Myrtle Beach. Rainfall was light, peaking at 1.34 inches (34 mm) in Loris. North Carolina Isabel produced moderate to heavy damage across eastern North Carolina, totaling $450 million (2003 USD). Damage was heaviest in Dare County, where storm surge flooding and strong winds damaged thousands of houses. The storm surge produced a 2,000 foot (600 m) wide inlet on Hatteras Island, unofficially known as Isabel Inlet, isolating Hatteras by road for two months. Strong winds downed hundreds of trees of across the state, leaving up to 700,000 residents without power. Most areas with power outages had power restored within a few days. The hurricane directly killed one person and indirectly killed two in the state. Virginia The storm surge assailed much of southeastern Virginia causing the worst flooding seen in the area since the 1933 Chesapeake–Potomac hurricane, peaking at an estimated 9 feet (2.7 m) in Richmond along the James River. The surge caused significant damage to homes along river ways, especially along the middle reaches of the James River basin. The strong storm surge surpassed the floodgate to the Midtown Tunnel while workers attempted to close the gate; about of water flooded the tunnel entirely in just 40 minutes, with the workers barely able to escape. The damage to the electrical grid and flooding kept Old Dominion University, Norfolk State University, Virginia Commonwealth University, University of Richmond, The College of William & Mary and many of the region's other major educational institutions closed for almost a week. Further inland, heavy rainfall was reported, peaking at 20.2 inches (513 mm) in Sherando, Virginia, causing damage