A few Irene related ferry stories:
www.chron.com/news/article/NC-ferries-close-before-storm-Bonner-Bridge-after-2142755.php
NC ferries close before storm, Bonner Bridge afterRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina's ferries are now tied up at their docks until Hurricane Irene passes.
The North Carolina Transportation Department said the ferry system was locked down after the last boat off Ocracoke Island left Friday afternoon for Hatteras Island. The only way on and off Ocracoke is by boat, and officials estimate half the island's 1,000 residents may have stayed.
Officials say the ferries will resume when tropical storm force winds die down and the Coast Guard says it is safe.The Bonner Bridge between Hatteras and Bodie islands will close after the storm passes for inspectors to check its safety. Dare County Manager Bobby Outten says when the bridge is too dangerous to cross it also is too dangerous to have a law officer there to keep people off.
At the eastern terminus of the Delaware Bay ferry
www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/breaking/128539198.html
Tornado Damages Homes in Del. A tornado touched down tonight southwest of Lewes, Delaware, according to the National Weather Service.
One home was demolished and more than a dozen homes were damaged in the Nassau Station and Tradewinds Subdivisions, according to the NWS.
The tornado touched down around 6:30 p.m., as Hurricane Irene made her way up the coast, bringing with her a threat of severe flooding and power outages.
With several areas under tornado watch and severe flooding threatening much of the region, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter declared a state of emergency for the first time since 1986.
Irene is expected to bring winds of 70 or more miles per hour along the coast and 40 to 60 miles per hour inland.
www.timeslive.co.za/world/2011/08/28/hurricane-irene-blasts-new-york
Hurricane Irene blasts New YorkHurricane Irene tore Sunday into New York, hammering Manhattan's skyscrapers with fierce winds and threatening to flood the financial district after killing at least nine people along the US east coast.The first hurricane to hit the Big Apple for a generation swept in overnight, accompanied by lightning, reports of tornados and deafening rainfall. Wind strength grew steadily and was forecast to cross the 50 miles an hour mark before dawn, then up to a peak of 80 miles an hour.
The city resembled a ghost town after 370,000 people were told to evacuate flood-prone areas, including near Wall Street and at Coney Island, and mass transport was shut down.
Subway trains, buses and the famous Staten Island ferry all closed Saturday, as did all nearby airports, paralyzing the nation's biggest city. Mayor Michael Bloomberg told a press conference that running from the storm was no longer possible.
"At this point, if you haven't evacuated, our suggestion is you stay where you are," he said. "Nature is a lot stronger than the rest of us."
Irene made US landfall at 8:00 am (1200 GMT) Saturday at Cape Lookout, North Carolina, near a chain of barrier islands and quickly proved deadly.
At least nine people died Saturday -- in car accidents, by heart attack and by falling trees -- in North Carolina, Virginia and Florida. The youngest victim, an 11-year-old boy, died when a tree crashed through his apartment building in Newport News, Virginia.
On its passage up the coast, Irene knocked out power supplies for well over a million people, triggered the cancelation of more than 8,000 flights, and forced nearly two million people to evacuate, half of them in New Jersey.
Early Sunday, the eye of the storm was just southeast of Ocean City, a resort town in Maryland.
Officials in New York said the biggest danger was from flooding caused not just because of tropical-style rainfall, but a surge of wind-driven seawater pushing up from the Atlantic, especially at high tide early Sunday.
City areas at risk of being swamped included parts of the financial district in Manhattan and low-lying beach resorts in Brooklyn and Queens and on nearby Long Island. Boat owners scrambled to get their craft ashore and officials across New Jersey and New York pleaded with residents to keep off beaches.
Officials say Manhattan's skyscrapers are not at risk of serious damage, but warn that power outages might strand residents without light, water or elevators.
The disruption took on an international character after the area's three big airports -- John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia and Newark -- were ordered to stop all flights at 10:00 pm (0200 GMT).
The flightaware.com website, which tracks airport arrivals and departures, estimated that 8,337 flights would be canceled during the weekend, mainly US domestic trips. It warned that the figure would rise.
President Barack Obama, who cut short his summer vacation, visited the Federal Emergency Management Agency's operations center in Washington, where he said the east coast was in for a "long 72 hours."
Obama chaired a meeting at the National Response Coordination Center set up to marshaling federal and local hurricane-relief efforts.
"This is going to be a tough slog getting through this thing," Obama said during a video teleconference including senior federal officials and local government agencies.
Some 65 million people live in the urban corridor from Washington north to Boston, and experts have said the damage could cost anything up to $12 billion to restore.
"This is going to be a very serious storm, no matter what the track is, no matter how much it weakens. This is a life threatening storm to people here," Bloomberg said.
Irene's approach stirred painful memories of Hurricane Katrina, which smashed into the southern Gulf Coast in 2005, stranding thousands of people in New Orleans and overwhelming poorly prepared local and federal authorities.
Hurricanes are rare in the northeastern United States -- the last major hurricane to hit New York was Gloria in 1985 -- but this time authorities say they are ready.
The US military said up to 101,000 National Guard soldiers were available if needed and designated military bases in three states as staging areas.
citizensvoice.com/news/new-yorkers-take-threat-seriously-1.1194506#axzz1WJpBUMG0
New Yorkers take threat seriouslyBAY SHORE, N.Y. - The curious flocked to Gilgo Beach on the Atlantic Coast of Long Island on Saturday to experience first-hand the early effects of Hurricane Irene. They watched from the tops of dunes and along the ever-narrowing beach as waves crashed in the distance and the foamy surf crept closer.
"This is awesome!" Jeannine Guenther said as she snapped pictures of the scene: overcast skies, white-capped waves and a surf that resembled the frothy, crème-colored top of a cappuccino. "Very rarely do Long Islanders get to see waves like this. You've got to check it out."
Guenther remained safely atop one of the dunes separating the beach from Ocean Parkway, the main barrier-island thoroughfare, while others on the beach below raced into the surf - one final dip before going home and hunkering down.
Minutes later, they were told to start making their way. Around 1:40 p.m., a New York State trooper arrived and ordered the curious and their cars to leave, enforcing a mandatory evacuation for the slender islands between the surging Atlantic and mainland Long Island.
Officials in the two Long Island counties, Nassau and Suffolk, ordered residents of the barrier islands and certain damage-prone communities along the South Shore of the mainland to leave their homes by 5 p.m. Saturday.
Forecasters projected Hurricane Irene to make landfall on Long Island, close to the Nassau County border with Queens, this morning. The storm could bring a storm surge of 8 feet or more and, if it strikes at high tide, could flood low-lying communities home to hundreds of thousands of people.
"If you're not leaving for your own sake, leave for the sake of your community and neighbors," Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy said during a briefing Saturday at a high school in Brentwood, N.Y. We don't want to worry about going into evacuation zones to rescue people, don't make things any harder on our first responders."
On the penultimate weekend before Labor Day, there would be no frolicking on Jones Beach, no boating in the Great South Bay. There would be no trips to New York City, either. The Long Island Rail Road, the commuter rail connecting the suburbs and the city, suspended service Saturday afternoon and officials cautioned against unnecessary driving as the city and the region braced for impact.
Many appeared to heed the warnings.
The captain of the Fire Island Flyer, a ferry between the barrier island and the mainland, yelled, "Nobody's left," as he piloted his ship toward the dock here around 2:30 p.m., two hours before the suspension of ferry service. The bulk of the island's residents and tourist visitors had left on Friday, he said. Shelters opened inland at more than three dozen schools in Nassau and Suffolk counties and school buses were pressed into duty to shuttle evacuees.
Those sticking it out at home spent Friday and Saturday stocking up.
Supermarkets across Long Island ran low on bread and water. A Costco wholesale store in Farmingdale, N.Y., exhausted its supply of batteries. A nearby Best Buy turned to UPS for an emergency shipment of AM/FM radios Saturday morning.
Even bagels, the Long Island staple, were in short supply.
Lines at a bagel store in Commack, N.Y., closer to the North Shore, extended to the parking lot, with customers waiting nearly a half-hour to place an order.
When one man emerged Saturday morning with a bag stuffed with dozens of bagels and an assortment of salads and cream cheese, a waiting customer exclaimed, "Hurricane party?"
Stores normally open late into the evening closed early Saturday.
A Wal-Mart store in Islandia, N.Y., was boarded up by 4 p.m. A Target store in Commack, N.Y., was due to close by 7 p.m. and, signs on the doors told shoppers, would not reopen until Monday morning.
A cashier explained that store management did not want customers driving in the storm and did not want employees stuck in the store as conditions worsened.
Ram Matlani, the owner of Oak Neck Wines and Liquors in West Islip, N.Y., took a different tack, boarding up his windows but remaining committed to keeping normal Saturday and Sunday hours. After forecasters downgraded Hurricane Irene from a severe Category 3 storm to a less intense Category 1, Matlani scrawled a message on the boards: "Open for Irene! Gotta Love NY. Got wine?"
"This is my handiwork. This is my Mona Lisa," Matlani joked.
In New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg initiated the city's first-ever mandatory evacuation in the face of a storm, leaving places like the famed Coney Island in Brooklyn and Far Rockaway in Queens, near John F. Kennedy International Airport, virtually barren.
Heath Williams, a Lake-Lehman graduate now living in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, spend Saturday preparing for the worst.
"We all remember Katrina, so I tried to prepare with a worst-case scenario mentality," Williams said, rattling off a list of the supplies he purchased: bread, peanut butter and other nonperishables that could sustain him for a week without power.
"My biggest piece of preparation was actually going to the Strand Book Store this morning to buy a couple of books in case I'm stuck here for a couple of days without power and just candlelight and flashlights," Williams said. "No better time to catch up on some reading."
Guenther, one of the curious Long Islanders on the beach, had a different idea. She said she still planned to attend a friend's 30th birthday party Saturday night in Bethpage, N.Y., about 20 minutes from the shore, despite the coming storm. That attitude, Guenther said, was quintessential New York.
"We've been through much worse," she said.
www.theday.com/article/20110828/NWS12/308289907/-1/NWS
Some face mandatory evacuations, others simply hunker downThe region braces for a close encounter with IreneThe region on Saturday braced for a dangerously close encounter with Hurricane Irene as local officials issued rare evacuation orders for shoreline communities. Residents and business owners boarded up windows in preparation for what some predicted could be the fiercest storm to hit Connecticut in decades.
Stonington and Groton were among the towns that issued mandatory orders of evacuation Saturday afternoon for residents of flood-prone areas. Local officials said they feared what could happen if people remained in their homes during a strong storm surge forecast for high tide at about 10 this morning.
Residents were urged to make use of the evacuation shelters set up at various local school buildings and senior centers. While homeowners were not forcibly removed from their properties, they were warned that emergency crews might not respond to their potential distress calls once the hurricane arrives.
By 8 p.m., more than 60 residents had checked in to the shelter at Robert E. Fitch Senior High School in Groton.
The brunt of Irene was forecast to hit Connecticut early this morning as a strong tropical storm or a Category 1 hurricane, which can have sustained wind speeds of 74 to 95 mph.
President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency for Connecticut as well as Rhode Island, authorizing federal aid to supplement state and local hurricane response efforts. Emergency assistance will be provided at 75 percent federal funding, Connecticut officials said.
On Saturday the region was also preparing for a complete halt to land, sea and air travel. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced a roadway ban for all non-emergency vehicles that was to take effect in the predawn hours of this morning.
Ferry service was canceled for all of today and part of Monday for the Long Island, Block Island and Fishers Island ferries. Shore Line East and MetroNorth rail service was also offline.All flights today to and from both Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks and T.F. Green Airport in Warwick, R.I. were also canceled.
Workers at the Millstone nuclear power complex in Waterford had throttled down power and were ready to shut down the twin operating reactors if winds from the hurricane exceed 90 mph. A Millstone spokesman said reducing power helps to maintain "grid stability" in the event the units go offline. The plant was built to withstand hurricanes and has flood barriers and water-tight doors.
Malloy has warned that areas of Connecticut could potentially be without power for days or even weeks.
Forecasters predicted a slow weakening of Irene's strength due to land interaction as the hurricane spiraled along the mid-Atlantic states late Saturday. But it was still expected to reach Connecticut at or near hurricane strength. A direct hit was expected for the state's western shoreline later this morning.
The National Weather Service said isolated tornadoes were possible along the state's shoreline.
State officials were particularly nervous about the potential for severe flooding, as the storm was forecast to bring 6 to 12 inches of rain, with more predicted in the western end of the state.
Evacuation orders were also in effect for Watch Hill and other waterfront communities in Westerly. There was a ghost town look and feel to Watch Hill's Bay Street thoroughfare, as plywood boards covered the windows and doorways of nearly every shingle-style shop building. Few people were out and only a half-dozen sailboats were left bobbing in the harbor.
Looking out over the water is a large rock memorial remembering the 15 people who died in Watch Hill during the disastrous Hurricane of 1938.
The only shop still open Saturday afternoon was St. Clair Annex, an ice cream parlor and restaurant where a handful of seasonal residents were eating french fries. Several families said they weren't too worried about Irene and intended to ride out the storm in Watch Hill despite warnings from local authorities that they're on their own.
"We all grew up here and we're staying here," said Sarah Cooper, who told the eatery's co-owner, Joann Nicholas, to expect at least one customer later this weekend, never mind the hurricane. "I'm coming back for lunch tomorrow," she said.
Several miles away, near the SprayRock overlook at Weekapaug in Westerly, a half dozen surfers enjoyed what some called the best swells of the week.
"It's warm, but it's not unusually warm and there's very little current," said area resident Arber Kelmendi, 27, who planned to evacuate once he changed out of his board shorts to a friend's house in Hope Valley, R.I.
At the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, officials pulled all small training and sailing vessels from the river and decided to move the 75-year-old barque Eagle to a more stable location.
At least 200 members of the Connecticut National Guard were to help with hurricane response today, with an additional 500 members ready on Monday.
Teresa M. Norris, a writer, finished an essay Saturday about her plans to evacuate the house she and he husband live in beside a Mystic boatyard.
"It's eerie to see neighbors' homes boarded up; stranger still to see our garage and shed sporting plywood ... " she wrote. "Bottom line: it will be what it will be. At least the waiting will be over."
Day staff writer Sasha Goldstein contributed to this report and portions of an Associated Press story were also used.
www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/27/us-storm-irene-newengland-idUSTRE77Q2X320110827
Residents prepare as Irene takes aim at New EnglandThe sign in big red letters taped to the door at the Prudence Island ferry landing in this bayside Rhode Island town said it all: "Hurricane Approaching."In a hurried revision, it continued: "The ferry will be canceling trips for Sunday and Monday, so plan accordingly."Across New England on Saturday, vacationers trudged inland, fishermen dry-docked their boats and residents stocked up on supplies and locked down their homes as Hurricane Irene churned toward the Northeast.
Irene howled ashore in North Carolina on Saturday as a Category 1 hurricane 530 miles across with 85 miles per hour winds. At least five deaths were attributed to the hurricane by Saturday evening.
Rich Kenerson, 50, whose family has owned a home on Prudence Island since 1961, was among several dozen people who filed off the Prudence Island ferry Saturday. He said he would ride out Irene with his wife on the mainland. Most of his neighbors planned to stay on the island, he said."They'll sit there and ride it out," he said of Prudence's residents, which number less than 150. "They know where the wine is and where the beer is. They'll be fine."
Authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders for residents who live on or near the water in six Rhode Island communities, including Bristol.
Irene's precise path remains in doubt, but it was in line to lash Rhode Island and coastal Massachusetts with strong winds, heavy rains and potentially dangerous storm surges.
Amtrak canceled trains on Saturday and suspended all service across the Northeast for Sunday. Cancellations and delays were also piling up at Boston's Logan International Airport, authorities said.
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick said he would likely be playing Scrabble with his wife by candle light at home during the worst of the storm on Sunday. He urged residents to stay off the streets when the storm hits New England.
Fishermen and recreational boaters said they would take no chances, pulling their vessels up on land or moving them to open-water moorings to keep them from being smashed by a storm surge.
"You won't be able to walk down to the dock (anyway)," said Josh Soares, a shellfisherman who works out of Bristol. He said he pulled his boat out of the water because the fishing grounds will likely be closed for at least a week.
RIDING OUT THE STORMNot everyone joined the throngs fleeing island vacations for safer ground on the New England mainland.
"We've had this booked for so long," said Nikia Murchie, a Boston resident taking a ferry to Nantucket with friends. "If we thought we'd get hurt, we wouldn't go," Murchie said.Murchie's group brought a propane camping stove and supplies as a precaution, and were the first car in line for the evening ferry trip to Nantucket.
Scott Silberfein and his family reached Cape Cod from Westchester County, New York, on Saturday prepared to wait out the storm and then hit the beach after it passes. They played a round of miniature golf before the rain.
"No lines, no traffic and we got the kids some exercise before the rain comes," Silberfein said.
Traffic was light around Cape Cod on Saturday and six emergency shelters were scheduled to open in the evening. Bridges to Cape Cod would be closed if sustained winds reach 70 miles per hour, potentially cutting it off from the mainland, authorities said.
Many others opted to cut their New England vacations short.
At Scarborough State Beach in Narragansett, Rhode Island, fewer than a dozen swimmers hit the waves Saturday. By contrast, a busy summer day might bring 10,000 visitors, beach manager Chris Carty said. The beach will be closed Sunday.
"Right now we are most worried about the storm surge but we want to leave the beach open as long as it is safe for people to enjoy it," Carty said.
Veteran local resident Mae Kearns, who remembers the 1938 hurricane that killed about 600 people in New England, most of them in Rhode Island, said she has been preparing for the storm for days.
"We took everything that could blow away inside," said Kearns, who lives a few miles from the Narragansett beach.