Today August 27, 2011 is a very confused and unpredictable day in the United States of America with a massive hurricane called Irene moving into the coastline of the country. Coming in from the south and moving into the easting states, Irene is said to be very massive. One of the many chilling factors of this hurricane is that, it is aiming straight towards New York City and is said to cause flood in some parts of the city when it hits. In fact, for the very first time in many years the mayor has declared a state of emergency and has order evacuation of some parts of the city. New York City, Hurricane….wow!! isn’t that scary?
In fact, as I write this post, it is reported that Hurricane Irene has slammed into North Carolina near Cape Lookout with winds clocking 90 mph after battering the Carolina coast. Thousands have already lost power as the storm begins its way up the East Coast.
Getty Images by Mark Wilson,
(An emergency vehicle patrols the boardwalk in Ocean City, Md., early Saturday.)
The emphasis for this storm is on its size and duration, not necessarily how strong the strongest winds are.
The storm made landfall at 7:30 a.m. ET. Wind and rain knocked out power to nearly 200,000 customers along the North Carolina coast, North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue said. Homeland Security Director Janet Napolitano said Saturday "We expect significant power outage up and down the Eastern Seaboard."
At least two piers on the Outer Banks were wiped out, the roof of a car dealership was ripped away and a hospital in Morehead City was running on generators.
"Our plan is executed now, our shelters are open, our search and rescue teams are all over the state," Perdue said at a news briefing.
Those of us on the east coast are running helter scatter preparing for the worst and praying for the best as Irene is expected to hit us by tomorrow Sunday August 28, 2011 between 4-5 pm depending on the proximity to its source.
About 8,000 people already have checked in to 81 shelters. Thirty emergency teams are stationed around the state along with 285 members of the National Guard.
Flash flooding already is a problem and some areas have gotten up to 8 inches of rain the governor said. In a plea to residents Perdue said bluntly: "Please stay inside."
Perdue said there were still some people who opted to stay behind but "the good news is our tourists evacuated very quickly."
She said the storm may not be nearly as bad as anybody predicted, but "get ready, she's still a hurricane and people need to respect her."
"There's nothing you can do now but wait. You can hear the wind and it's scary," said Leon Reasor, who rode out the storm in the Outer Banks town of Buxton. "Things are banging against the house. I hope it doesn't get worse, but I know it will. I just hate hurricanes."
More than 2 million people along the East Coast have been warned, or ordered, to flee the storm's path. Millions more as far north as Maine hunkered down for a weekend of historic wind and rain.
The storm was forecast to reach the mid-Atlantic states later Saturday and New York and New England on Sunday. A hurricane threat this severe is new territory for some northern areas.
"I'm from Atlanta. I spent 10 weeks in Mississippi after Katrina and four weeks in Miami after Andrew," said Teresa Caver, a Red Cross official in Binghamton, N.Y. "I was not expecting to come to New York and have to deal with hurricanes or earthquakes."
The storm already was having an effect north of Cape Lookout in Virginia Beach, where driving winds and high winds were battering the city.
Powerful winds wobbled stop signs, shook light poles and bent trees. As a group of workers at a Hampton Inn stood chatting under the portico, a loud crack, like a thunderbolt, made everyone jump: It was the 10-foot-high plastic sign at the Grand Ocean Hotel across the street, which had been sucked off the face of the building and fallen eight stories to the street.
Rain was falling horizontally. About the only people venturing onto the beach were rain-soaked news crews shooting footage of crashing waves for top-of-the-hour newscasts.
Local officials said about 300 people already were settling in at five shelters around town, but that no major injuries or emergencies had been reported.
"Actually our calls for service are down," said Tim Riley, a battalion chief with the Virginia Beach Fire Department. "We think people are heeding our call to shelter in place."
Hours before the storm was to hit in earnest, about 4,000 homes had already lost electricity, according to Dominion Virginia Power.
U.S. airlines have canceled thousands of weekend flights. Dozens of airports, including New York's three major ones, were closing or curtaling schedules.
Local Red Cross chapters have put volunteers on alert to be ready to travel to the Carolinas or other East Coast locations to help deal with the aftermath of the hurricane.
"I have been sending out alerts to our volunteers in the entire region, putting them on standby that Irene is heading this way. History has showed us that our effect has always been flooding," said Sharon Aswad, chief program and response officer for the American Red Cross South Central New York region.
Many governors have ordered mandatory evacuations, making it clear that those who stay behind will have to fend for themselves.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie urged 1 million Jersey Shore vacationers and residents to leave: "I saw news feeds of people on the beach in Asbury Park… Get the hell off the beach in Asbury Park and get out.. You've maximized your tan. Get off the beach, get in your cars and get out of those areas…. Do not waste any more time working on your tan. Get off the beach.''
Even President Obama, who cut short his vacation in Martha's Vineyard on Friday, said the storm was shaping up as a "historic hurricane" and urged residents to "be prepared for the worst."
"Don't wait. Don't delay," Obama said. "We all hope for the best, but we have to be prepared for the worst."
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg held a news briefing to emphasize how serious the storm is for the city.
"It's heading basically, directly for us,'' he said, announcing manadatory evacuations for low-lying areas of the city.
"We've never done a mandatory evacuation before and we wouldn't be doing it if we didn't think this storm is going to be serious, Bloomberg said. The storm was expected to churn up the coast, with high winds and drenching areas from Virginia to New York City before a much-weakened storm reaches New England.
In New York City, nursing homes and five hospitals in low-lying areas began evacuating Friday. Bloomberg said subways, buses and railroads would shut down beginning at noon Saturday and "may or may not be restored" by rush hour Monday.
Delaware's governor pleaded with people to "get out of the way" in case officials have to respond to emergencies.
"We know the roads will be impassable, bridges may have to be closed, emergency vehicles may not be able to get where we want them to get, so it is important that people get out of the way," Gov. Jack Markell told MSNBC.
Already, Irene has destroyed hundreds of homes on small Bahamian islands but largely spared the capital of Nassau as it tore over the sprawling archipelago Thursday. There were no immediate reports of deaths, but some small settlements reported up to 90% of their homes damaged. Assessments from other islands were not in because telephone lines were down.
Forecasters issued a hurricane warning for much of New Jersey.
Irene could be "one of the most devastating storms on record in New Jersey," said David Robinson, the New Jersey state climatologist at Rutgers University.
Gary Szatkowski, the meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service's Mount Holly, N.J., office, agreed: "If this pans out as the track suggests, this will be the worst storm in anyone's lifetime in New Jersey," he said.
