Hurricane Irene: Prepare for a Category 4 'major Hurricane'

vnathan · #21 ● 08-27-2011, 09:36 AM

What a lovely little breeze.

gatagato · #22 ● 08-27-2011, 03:49 PM

Irene makes landfall in N.C.; 4 deaths reported

MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. - Hurricane Irene made landfall on the Outer Banks of North Carolina about 7:30 a.m. ET Saturday morning, losing some power but still whipping up sustained winds of 85 mph, as it continued its run up the Eastern Seaboard.

The National Hurricane Center said the eye of the enormous Category 1 storm passed over Cape Lookout, with winds slipping a bit from 100 mph overnight, but warned Irene would remain a hurricane as it moves up the mid-Atlantic coast.

At 2 p.m. ET Irene was about 45 miles west northwest of Cape Hatteras, N.C., and about 95 miles south of Norfolk, Va. The storm was moving north-northeastward at 15 mph.

Major developments:
Paramedics in North Carolina say a man was killed outside his home by a tree limb blown down by Hurricane Irene. a driver in Pitt County perished when his car struck a tree on the side of a road Saturday morning. State Highway Patrol officials say they were investigating the fatal wreck and were not sure if it was storm-related. A falling tree limb killed a third man in Nash County, N.C. An 11-year-old boy died in Newport News, Va., after a tree fell on an apartment complex, reports CBS affiliate WTKR.
Wind and rain have knocked out power to more than 497,446 customers in North Carolina and Virginia.
More than 2 million people have been told to evacuate to safer places, and New York City ordered the nation's biggest subway system shut down for the first time because of a natural disaster.
According to Red Cross spokesperson Kate Meier, more than 13,000 people stayed in nearly 150 Red Cross shelters across six states Friday night. More shelters are opening today.
CBS News' Carter Yang reports that airlines have canceled 8,337 flights through Monday, and that number is expected to rise. N.Y.C. airports are shutting down for arrivals at noon Saturday, with last departures expected this evening at 10 p.m. Philadelphia's airport is shutting down tonight at 6 p.m. Circumstances at each airport will determine when flights will resume.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/...20098249.shtml
Hurricane Irene Viewed on Thursday by Space Station Cameras
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Black Knight · #23 ● 08-27-2011, 06:57 PM

I'm in PA outside Philadelphia and we are in a state of emergency. It is raining steadily and the true impact is expected to hit around 8:00 when they are calling for high winds, torrential rains, etc.

Totally sucks as my basement gets water in really heavy rain. With forecasts calling for 10 inches, I will finally get that indoor swimming pool I wanted. I fully expect the power to go out and I don't have a generator or battery backup so I am screwed.

WHICH is precisely why I am going to the pub up the street!

DarwinsMistake · #24 ● 08-27-2011, 07:28 PM

5 deaths and more than 750,000 people without power so far..Its weird seeing NYC's transit shut down..Stay safe folks..Geesh please stay safe...

BrownRock · #25 ● 08-27-2011, 08:00 PM

Stay safe guys.

gatagato · #26 ● 08-28-2011, 02:51 AM

Irene Blamed for At Least 9 Deaths as Storm Moves Northeast

Hurricane Irene weakened Sunday but maintained its Category 1 status as it moved up the East Coast, shutting down New York and other cities in the storm's path.

By late Saturday, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the edge of Hurricane Irene had reached the city and it was no longer safe to be outside.

"The time for evacuation is over. Everyone should now go inside and stay inside," he said.

Along the rest of the mid-Atlantic coast, Hurricane Irene pounded the North Carolina and Virginia coasts with fierce winds and heavy rain Saturday, killing at least nine people, including two children, and leaving nearly two million people without power as it began a ferocious run up the East Coast.

Irene is so far being blamed for at least nine deaths. An 11-year-old boy died Saturday when the hurricane blew a tree on his two-story apartment building in Newport News, Va., and another person was killed from a fallen tree while driving in Brunswick County. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell confirmed a third death elsewhere in the state.

In North Carolina, a man was crushed to death outside his home by a large limb blown down during high winds from the hurricane and a child died in a wreck after the car she was in crashed at an intersection where the storm had knocked out power to the traffic lights. Two other deaths in North Carolina were also reported, according to the state's Office of Emergency Management.

In Maryland, an emergency official says one person has reportedly died after a tree fell on a house in Queen Anne's County.

Authorities in Maryland warned of a potential dam failure, Reuters reported.

"Due to the extreme rain event caused by Hurricane Irene, a notification is being issued for a potential Dam Failure situation that may cause significant flooding that could threaten people, homes and roads downstream from the St. Mary's Lake Dam," the St. Mary's County Government website said.

Heavy winds continued to lash the Hampton Roads region of Virginia on Saturday night as Irene maintained its north-northeast path.

In New York, authorities began the Herculean job of bringing the city to a halt. The subway began shutting down at noon, the first time the system was closed because of a natural disaster. It is unclear when the system will run again.

On Wall Street, sandbags were placed around subway grates near the East River because of fear of flooding. Tarps were placed over other grates. Construction stopped throughout the city, and workers at the site of the World Trade Center dismantled a crane and secured equipment.

While there were plenty of cabs on the street, the city was far quieter than on an average Saturday. In some of the busiest parts of Manhattan, it was possible to cross a major avenue without looking, and the waters of New York Harbor, which might normally be churning from boat traffic, were quiet before the storm. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey closed the Palisades Interstate Parkway entrance to the George Washington Bridge due to weather conditions.

The biggest utility, Consolidated Edison, considered cutting off power to 6,500 customers in lower Manhattan because it would make the eventual repairs easier. Mayor Michael Bloomberg also warned New Yorkers that elevators in public housing would be shut down, and elevators in some high-rises would quit working so people don't get trapped if the power goes out.

A day earlier, the city ordered evacuations for low-lying areas, including Battery Park City at the southern edge of Manhattan, Coney Island with its famous amusement park and the beachfront Rockaways in Queens.

The five main New York-area airports -- La Guardia, John F. Kennedy and Newark, plus two smaller ones -- waved in their last arriving flights around noon. The Giants and Jets postponed their preseason NFL game, the Mets postponed two baseball games, and Broadway theaters were dark.

New York has seen only a handful of hurricanes in the past 200 years. The Northeast is much more used to snowstorms -- including the blizzard last December, when Bloomberg was criticized for a slow response.

The violent Category 1 hurricane slammed into Cape Lookout, N.C., at about 7:30 a.m., packing maximum sustained winds at around 85 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Forecasters say Irene's sustained winds have eased a bit but are still at hurricane strength as the bulk of the powerful storm starts to re-emerge over the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

With most of its transportation machinery shut down, the Eastern Seaboard spent the day nervously watching the storm's march across a swath of the nation inhabited by 65 million people. The hurricane had an enormous wingspan -- 500 miles, its outer reaches stretching from the Carolinas to Cape Cod -- and packed wind gusts of 115 mph.

The hurricane stirred up 7-foot waves, and forecasters warned of storm-surge danger on the coasts of Virginia and Delaware, along the Jersey Shore and in New York Harbor and Long Island Sound. In Maryland, authorities closed the Chesapeake Bay bridge Saturday night as Irene gusts reached 72 to 80 mph. http://www.foxnews.com/weather/2011/...#ixzz1WIsKEYne

dan-b · #27 ● 08-28-2011, 03:01 AM

Important video, especially if you're American.

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gatagato · #28 ● 08-28-2011, 02:27 PM

Despite the fact that Irene was downgraded to tropical storm, FEMA chief says it's still dangerous.
FEMA chief says tropical storm Irene still dangerous.
It had led to the deaths of 15 people in seven states as of Sunday morning:

CONNECTICUT:
— In Prospect, one person was killed in a fire that Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said was apparently caused by wires knocked down by the storm.
FLORIDA:
— In Volusia County, 55-year-old Frederick Fernandez died Saturday off New Smyrna Beach after he was tossed off his board by massive waves caused by Irene. The Orlando Sentinel reports the high school teacher had a large cut on his head, apparently from hitting the sea floor.

— In Flagler County, 55-year-old tourist James Palmer of New Jersey died Saturday in rough surf. Family members say they lost sight of him after he waded into the surf in North Florida. He was pulled to shore and his wife attempted CPR, but he was pronounced dead at the hospital.
MARYLAND:
— In Queen Anne's County, a woman was killed when a tree fell on a house and caused the chimney to collapse. Another person in the house was not hurt.
NEW JERSEY
— A woman who had called police early Sunday for help getting out of her flooded car in Salem County was found dead in the vehicle hours later.
NORTH CAROLINA:
— In Nash County, a man was killed after a tree limb fell on him outside his home Saturday morning as outer bands from the storm brought near hurricane-force gusts inland.

— Goldsboro police say a 15-year-old girl died Saturday afternoon after the SUV carrying her and family members collided with another SUV at an intersection where Irene had knocked out power to traffic lights.

— Authorities in Pitt County say a man was found dead in his home after Irene's winds toppled a tree onto his house.

— Another man in Pitt County drove through standing water, went off a road and died after striking a tree on Saturday.

— A mother in Sampson County died Saturday morning when a tree fell on a car carrying her and two family members.
PENNSYLVANIA
— A 58-year-old Harrisburg man was killed Sunday morning when a tree toppled onto his tent, state police said. The man was one of about 20 people at a party on private property in East Hanover Township, Dauphin County, some of whom who decided to sleep outside.
VIRGINIA:
— Newport News authorities report that 11-year-old Zahir Robinson was killed when a large tree crashed through his apartment shortly after noon.

— In Brunswick County, a tree fell across a car Saturday afternoon, killing 67-year-old James Blackwell of Brodnax. The driver was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

— Chesterfield County police say a man died at a Hopewell hospital Saturday after a tree fell on a house that he was in.

— A King William County man killed when a tree fell on him as he was cutting another tree on Saturday night.

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.s..._toll_ris.html

**kellyhound** · #29 ● 08-28-2011, 02:32 PM

lot of the deaths above cud have been prevented if a lot of them shud have used their brain cells.(if any)
death coz of own stupidity.

The man was one of about 20 people at a party on private property in East Hanover Township, Dauphin County, some of whom who decided to sleep outside.

A King William County man killed when a tree fell on him as he was cutting another tree on Saturday night.

Faline · #30 ● 08-28-2011, 03:50 PM

Hurricane Irene: Prepare for a Category 4 'major Hurricane'

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