Hurricane Irene Brings Rain, Heavy Seas To Coast
MIAMI (AP) -- Hurricane Irene began lashing the East Coast with rain Friday ahead of a weekend of violent weather that was almost certain to heap punishment on a vast stretch of shoreline from the Carolinas to Massachusetts.
For hundreds of miles, people in the storm's path headed inland, made last-minute preparations and monitored the hurricane's every subtle movement. Irene had the potential to cause billions of dollars in damage all along a densely populated arc that included Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Boston and beyond.
At least 65 million people could be affected.
President Obama said all indications point to the storm being a historic hurricane.
"I cannot stress this highly enough. If you are in the projected path of this hurricane, you have to take precautions
now," Obama said Friday from Martha's Vineyard. He was wrapping up his vacation a day early and now planned to leave Friday, before Irene is expected to pass the area around the capital, the White House said.
As Irene trudged to the north, tropical storm-force winds of at least 39 mph (63 kph) were pelting the Carolinas, and rains had already begun affecting the coast. Swells and 6- to 9-foot waves were reported along the Outer Banks. Winds were expected to pick up later. Thousands had already lost power as the fringes of the storm began raking the shore.
And Irene's wrath in the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas, gave a preview of what might be coming to the U.S.: Power outages, dangerous floods and high winds that caused millions of dollars in damage.
Hurricane warnings remained in effect from North Carolina to New Jersey. Hurricane watches were in effect even farther north and included Long Island, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, Mass.
Risks from Irene's wrath were many: surging seas, drenching rains, flash floods and high winds. The head of the Federal
Emergency Management Agency had warned previously that this is one of the largest populations to be affected by one storm at one time.
On Friday morning, FEMA Director Craig Fugate and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano pleaded with people to heed warnings.
"People need to leave early, travel a safe distance and get somewhere safe," Fugate said. `All the preparation and planning will be in vain if people don't heed those evacuation orders."
In addition to widespread wind and water damage, Irene could also push crude oil prices higher if it disrupts refineries in
Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia, which produce nearly 8 percent of U.S. gasoline and diesel fuel.
By Friday afternoon, Irene had weakened slightly but remained a Category 2 storm with maximum sustained winds near 100 mph (161 kph). Little change in strength was expected by the time Irene reaches the North Carolina coast on Saturday, but forecasters at the National Hurricane Center warned it would be a large and dangerous storm nonetheless.
In North Carolina, traffic was steady Friday as people fled the Outer Banks and beach towns. A day earlier, tourists were ordered to leave the barrier islands, though local officials estimated Friday that about half the residents on two of the islands have ignored evacuation orders.
In Nags Head, police officer Edward Mann cruised the streets in search of cars in driveways -- a telltale sign they planned to stay behind. He warned those that authorities wouldn't be able to help holdouts in hurricane-force winds, and that electricity and water could be out for days.
Some tell Mann they're staying because they feel safe or because the storm won't be as bad as predicted. Mann, 25, said some have told him they've ridden out more storms than years he's been alive.
Bucky Domanski, 71, was among those who told Mann he wasn't leaving. The officer handed the retired salesman a piece of paper warning of the perils of staying behind. Domanski said he understood.
"I could be wrong, but everything meteorologists have predicted never pans out," Domanski said. "I don't know, maybe I've been lulled to sleep. But my gut tells me it's not going to be as bad as predicted. I hope I'm right."
Speaking Friday on CBS' "The Early Show," North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue said state troopers, the Red Cross and the National Guard were in place to deal with the storm's aftermath, which she said could affect some 3.5 million people.
North Carolina was just first in line along the Eastern Seaboard -- home to some of the nation's priciest real estate.
Besides major cities, sprawling suburbs, ports, airports, highways, cropland and mile after mile of built-up beachfront
neighborhoods are in harm's way. In several spots along the coast, hospitals and nursing homes worked to move patients and residents to safety.
"One of my greatest nightmares was having a major hurricane go up the whole Northeast coast," Max Mayfield, the National Hurricane Center's retired director, told The Associated Press on Thursday.
The hurricane could be the strongest to strike the East Coast in seven years, and people were already getting out of the way.
The center of the storm was still about 300 miles (483 kilometers) south-southwest of Cape Hatteras, N.C., and moving to
the north at 14 mph (22 kph).
The latest forecasts showed Irene crashing into the North Carolina coastline Saturday, then churning up the Eastern Seaboard and drenching areas from Virginia to New York City before a weakened storm reaches New England.
In Washington, Irene dashed hopes of dedicating a 30-foot sculpture to Martin Luther King Jr. on Sunday on the National Mall.
While a direct strike on the nation's capital appeared slim, organizers said the forecasts of wind and heavy rain made it too dangerous to summon a throng they expected to number up to 250,000.
In the Sandbridge section of Virginia Beach, Va., rental companies raced to evacuate guests and board up rental homes.
John Landbeck of Aberdeen, Md. spent Friday morning packing up the vacation home he was renting and pulling his fishing boat out of the water. He planned to ride out the storm at a hotel in Chesapeake and return to his rental for another two weeks once the storm passed. He said he'd stay out of harm's way but was taking things in stride.
"Hopefully we won't have any earthquakes, no more hurricanes, no more floods. But It's been fun. For me, life is an adventure. Whatever comes, we take it," he said.
Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers were told Thursday to pack a bag and be prepared to move elsewhere. The nation's biggest city has not seen a hurricane in decades, and a hurricane warning hasn't been issued there since Hurricane Gloria hit in 1985 as a Category 2 storm, said Ashley Sears, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
Even if the winds aren't strong enough to damage buildings in a metropolis made largely of brick, concrete and steel, a lot of New York's subways and other infrastructure are underground, making them subject to flooding. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said public transportation in New York City would shut down around noon Saturday, and major bridges also could shut down if conditions become too windy.
New York's two airports are close to the water and could be inundated, as could densely packed neighborhoods, if the storm pushes ocean water into the city's waterways, officials said. In 2008, the city had a brush with Tropical Storm Hanna, which dumped 3 inches of rain on Manhattan.
In the last 200 years, New York has seen only a few significant hurricanes. In September 1821, a hurricane raised tides by 13 feet in an hour and flooded all of Manhattan south of Canal Street, the southernmost tip of the city. The area now includes Wall Street and the World Trade Center memorial.
An infamous 1938 storm dubbed the Long Island Express came ashore about 75 miles east of the city and then hit New England, killing 700 people and leaving 63,000 homeless.
New England is also unaccustomed to direct hits from hurricanes. The first U.S. injuries from Irene appeared to be in South Florida near West Palm Beach, where eight people were washed off a jetty Thursday by a large wave churned up by the storm.
Across the Northeast, Irene threatened to flood many miles of land that are already saturated from heavy rain.
Parts of Rhode Island are still recovering from devastating 2010 spring floods. And Connecticut Gov. Daniel P. Malloy warned there could be prolonged power outages if Irene dumps up to a foot of additional rain.
The urban population explosion in recent decades also worries New Jersey officials. Gov. Chris Christie encouraged anyone on that state's heavily developed shoreline to prepare to leave. One of the popular casinos in Atlantic City had already closed Friday, and several others planned to shut down later in the day.
The beach community of Ocean City, Md., was taking no chances, ordering thousands of people to leave.
"This is not a time to get out the camera and sit on the beach and take pictures of the waves," said Maryland Gov. Martin
O'Malley.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
