NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Ida’s remnants slammed Virginia and the Atlantic seaboard, delivering torrents of rain driven by gusts of up to 70 mph. The storm on Thursday caused flooding, closed schools and colleges, and was linked to at least five deaths, three in Virginia.

    The wind and rain from Ida are expected to be milder Friday along the Virginia coast, though officials were keeping a close eye on high tide and storm surges. The storm is expected to make its way further up the seaboard, threatening more states.

    While Ida has packed a punch, officials are grateful it’s no Isabel, which was much more potent and felled forests of trees along its path. The storm made a destructive run through Virginia in 2003, leaving nearly 2 million power customers in the dark, some for weeks, and leaving at least 25 dead.

    “This is mainly a water event,” said Bob Batcher, a spokesman for the city of Norfolk. “We have downed trees but not as bad as Isabel.”

    Ida’s rains and winds were the work of late-season tropical storm, which quickly weakened once it made landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast on Tuesday. Still, it soaked a path from Alabama to Georgia.

    Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine declared a state of emergency and officials urged people in some areas to stay home. A state of emergency was also in effect in Cape May County in New Jersey.

    Dominion Power reported early Friday that nearly 162,000 customers remained without electricity in Virginia and parts of North Carolina. All but about 10,000 of those customers were in southeast Virginia.

    Strong winds with gusts of up to 45 mph were expected Friday morning along the lower Maryland shore. The National Weather Service issued coastal storm warnings from Delaware through Virginia and advised that recreational boaters and commercial vessels remain in port because of strong winds and dangerous waters.

    Thursday night, some hardy Norfolk residents went out into the stinging rain, leaning into gusting winds as they walked.

    Glenn Goodman, 48, found a sports bar that appeared to be open, only to have a server lock up as he reached for the door. The city resident eats out each night, and this was his third or fourth stop.

    “If you know what roads to take, it’s not that bad. You just don’t try to drive through big puddles,” he said.

    Three motorists died in weather-related crashes in central and eastern Virginia. In New York City, a 36-year-old surfer died after getting caught in pounding surf churned up by the storm. In North Carolina, an elderly man standing in his yard was killed when a pine tree was snapped off by strong winds and fell on him, the fire department said.

    Meanwhile, Coast Guard officials suspended a search for three commercial fishermen whose boat sank in churning seas 20 miles off the coast of New Jersey. A spokeswoman says there are no plans to resume searching Friday morning, when conditions are expected to be even worse.

    In North Carolina, thousands of residents lost power at some point during the deluge, flood warnings were posted from the mountains to the coast, and some roads were closed. Schools in several districts opened late.

    In Delaware, power outages were reported and at least two inches of rain had fallen in parts of the state. Some low-lying areas were already flooded, and wind gusts were as high as 55 mph.