 Isabel produced moderate to heavy damage across eastern North Carolina , totaling $ 450 million ( 2003 USD , $ 579 million 2016 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 . 
