NORTH CAROLINA RESIDENTS GATHER SUPPLIES TO PREPARE FOR HURRICANE ISABEL, 2003-09-15 (photo)

Mel Hellums (L) and Don Lajaivic load plywood into their van after purchasing supplies ahead of a storm in Wilmigton, North Carolina, September 15, 2003. U.S. East Coast residents on Monday prepared for one of the most powerful storms in recent memory as Hurricane Isabel whirled through the Atlantic toward possible landfall on Thursday in North Carolina. Isabel's top winds weakened slightly to 125 mph (205 kph) as it followed a path that could bring it ashore near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and north along the Chesapeake Bay near Washington D.C., through Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. REUTERS/Ellen Ozier ELO/GN