Marci Oden of Hatteras Village, N.C. becomes upset on Friday, Sept. 19, 2003 as she recounts being trapped by flood waters in the office of the Sea Gull Motel in Hatteras Village during Hurricane Isabel. Several feet of water crashing through the office threatened to carry her out to the sound as the storm hit on Thursday, Sept. 18. She eventually escaped to an attic where she spent several hours, she says. Her father rescued her by paddling a surfboard to the building. (Steve Earley / The Virginian-Pilot )