41.   Nowhere was the destruction worse than on the nearby barrier islands, where rows of beachfront homes were lost in the storm surge.

42.   On several North Carolina barrier islands, the struggle with the storm aftermath was just beginning as residents got their first looks at the damage.

43.   On the geologically more quiescent Atlantic and gulf coasts, most form at the seaward edge of long barrier islands.

44.   Police have set up roadblocks near the bridges over the intracoastal waterway that lead to the barrier islands.

45.   Shells on display represent those found everywhere from the Southwest Florida barrier islands to the Everglades.

46.   Shishmaref, on a barrier island near the Bering Strait, is fast losing the battle to rising seas and crumbling ground.

47.   Some are the progeny of slaves who harvested indigo and Sea Island cotton on these barrier islands.

48.   Some treasured ecosystems, such as the Rocky Mountain meadows and certain coral reefs and barrier islands, are likely to disappear entirely.

49.   South Carolina Gov. David Beasley on Wednesday ordered a mandatory evacuation of the barrier islands, beachfront and the low-lying areas in a half-dozen coastal counties.

50.   South Padre Island, the barrier island linked to Brownsville by a causeway, was evacuated by early Sunday.