Unable to walk on water after all, Bush flees DC:
18 Sep 2003 01:22:40 GMT
Bush leaves White House ahead of storm
WASHINGTON, Sept 17 (Reuters) - President George W. Bush left Washington for his Camp David retreat on Wednesday evening, a day early, to beat the expected arrival of Hurricane Isabel.
Bush left the White House by helicopter for a meeting at Camp David with Jordan's King Abdullah on Thursday.
He originally planned to travel to the retreat in the Maryland mountains on Thursday, but forecasters say the storm by then will threaten Washington with high winds and heavy rain. Camp David also lies in the projected storm path.
"It's because of the hurricane," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said of Bush's' early departure.
White House workers prepared the presidential residence to withstand the storm. "We are working to secure items that may be blown away in the event of the high winds here," McClellan said.
An exterior remodeling crew was told to pack up early, and workers prepared to take down awnings, check drains and lower flags ahead of the storm that was expected to hit the Washington area on Thursday, officials said.
Television crews were told to remove their equipment from the White House lawn by Thursday morning.
Bush met Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and Mike Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to go over storm preparations for East Coast regions expected to be hit by Isabel, McClellan said.
"They talked about the priorities for the federal government in terms of initiating life-saving and life- sustaining operations," he said.
FEMA and the Homeland Security Department were holding video conferences with federal, state and local authorities to coordinate responses to the storm, McClellan said.
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