When Hurricane Isabel roared onto the Outer Banks of North Carolina two months ago, stilted homes bowed to their knees, power lines snapped, sand piled over roadways, and residents in the hamlet of Hatteras sat isolated from the rest of the world.

Storm waters locked up in the estuarine side of the islands desperate for escape punched a new inlet between Hatteras and Frisco, washing sand, vegetation, and U.S. Highway 12 out to sea.