As many as 40 submarines and warships, including the carrier USS Ronald Reagan, were moving out Tuesday to ride out Hurricane Isabel at sea, the navy said.

By late afternoon nearly all were underway, said Commander Dave Warner, a spokesman for the Norfolk-based US Atlantic Fleet. But he added: "We are still moving ships."

US military aircraft, including Air Force One -- President George W. Bush's airplane based at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington -- have been ordered to bases farther inland, officials said.

The Pentagon, meanwhile, said enough national guard and reserve forces were on hand to help out in the event of a natural disaster despite the large numbers deployed for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We don't know what the problem will be, the hurricane has not hit," US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said. "We have thus far been able to provide the kind of assistance for domestic crisis that was needed."

Navy officials said all ships in Norfolk capable of getting underway were ordered to do so.

The navy said 25 ships, including the aircraft carriers USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and USS Harry S. Truman, were undergoing repairs and not able to get underway, "so extra precautions are being taken to avoid potential damage to these ships and their crews."

"Those ships will go into those safe havens and be tied down really tight so they get the best protection possible," said Chief Scott Boyle, a spokesman with the Atlantic fleet at Norfolk.

The Navy's F/A-18 and F-14 fighters based at nearby Naval Air Station Oceana also have been ordered to disperse to other bases beyond the reach of the storm, but disabled aircraft will be put away in hangars at Oceana, he said.

"They're moving aircraft throughout the day today and tomorrow (Wednesday)," said Lieutenant Commander Danny Hernandez, a navy spokesman. "They have begun to move and they will be done tomorrow by noon."

About 110 navy aircraft will go to bases in Ohio, Florida, Louisiana and Kentucky, he said.

The air force prepared to empty six East Coast bases of aircraft, sending squadrons of fighters, refueling aircraft, transport planes and helicopters to bases in the Midwest, said Major Cheryl Law, an air force spokeswoman.

Law said those aircraft would begin moving Wednesday.

The bases affected by the orders were McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey, Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, Andrews Air Force base in Maryland, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina and Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina.

The last time the navy evacuated the Norfolk Naval Station because of a storm was in 1999.

The move was ordered this time because Hurricane Isabel is projected to come ashore somewhere on the East Coast between the Carolinas and New England later this week.

At 5 pm (2100 GMT) Isabel's center was located about 917 kilometersmiles) southeast of North Carolina's Cape Hatteras. The hurricane was heading in a northwestern direction at a speed of nearly 13 kilometers (eight miles) per hour, according to the Miami, Florida-based National Hurricane Center.

"Navy vessels can better weather a storm of hurricane magnitude when they are under way," the navy said in a statement.

"A greater potential for damage exists when a ship is moored, where high winds and storm surges could act to cause damage to both the ship and the pier. Additionally, having these ships under way ensures they are ready to respond to any national tasking, if required," it said.

TERRA.WIRE