All things considered, the latest tropical storm to lash the Carolina coast almost seems a minor concern — especially when compared to the pandemic that has cost North Carolina thousands of lives.

But Tropical Storm Isaias, which made landfall near Ocean Isle Beach as a hurricane late on Aug. 3 with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph, left a path of destruction that will take considerable time and resources to address.

The storm crushed homes and businesses, piled boats against the docks, caused floods and fires that displaced dozens of people and left a foot of sand covering streets, The Associated Press reported. More than 650,000 residents in North Carolina lost electricity.

On top of that, at least seven people in the U.S. have died, including two near Windsor in Bertie County who were killed by a tornado generated by the storm. A dozen more were sent to the hospital, according to a report from Gov. Roy Cooper’s office. That was after the storm had killed two people in the Caribbean.

Not content to cause destruction in the South, Isaias made its way up the East Coast. Trees were toppled in Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey. Neighborhoods in Philadelphia were flooded.

The National Weather Service reported gusts of 147 mph in Mount Washington, N.H. All along the East Coast, the storm left more than 3.7 million people without electricity. It was expected to dissipate late last night or this morning in southeastern Canada.

“One of the most damaging storms the Northeast has ever experienced,” Fox News Senior Meteorologist Janice Dean called it on “Fox & Friends First.”

Despite warnings ahead of time, not everyone expected the storm to be so powerful. But Gov. Roy Cooper had the foresight to declare a state of emergency on July 31 and formally requested a federal declaration of emergency, which President Trump granted.

Shelters are now housing people whose homes were demolished or flooded and utility crews have begun working to repair the damage. Work crews have already restored electricity to nearly half of the affected homes and businesses in North Carolina, according to the Governor’s Office.

In the meantime, victims of the storm will still have to contend with the coronavirus. They’ll have their hands full for sure, trying to clean and repair the damage while maintaining safety protocols.

Sometimes it seems like this year has just been one bad thing after another — and it’s not over yet. The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season doesn’t end until Nov. 30, and it’s already proven to be an especially busy one.

A forecast released … by Colorado State University researchers predicts “an extremely active” season for the Atlantic basin.

Their latest projections call for 24 named storms, 12 of which are expected to become hurricanes. Five are expected to become major hurricanes. That means Category 3 or higher, with winds of more than 110 mph.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has revised and upgraded its forecast as well.

At least this time, we were largely spared in the Piedmont. But we’ve had our share of storm damage in the past, and we likely will in the future.

We urge all who can to donate to the Red Cross, the United Way and other organizations to help our neighbors get through this crisis.

That’s what we do here; we help one another. We weather our storms together.

— The Charlotte Observer