Millions of people on the US east coast braced Friday for Hurricane Irene, a massive storm officials fear will cause widespread flooding and dangerous conditions up the seaboard.
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| Hurricane Irene downed power lines on several islands in the Bahamas as the powerful storm roared across the southeast part of the archipelago on Thursday. |
Officials from North Carolina to New York declared states of emergency as tens of thousands of the most vulnerable residents were ordered to higher ground as Irene raced toward the US mainland.
Irene, a category two hurricane on the five-level Saffir-Simpson scale, is forecast to make landfall Saturday at North Carolina, where residents were fleeing the normally bustling beach communities such as Kill Devil Hills on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
At 1200 GMT Friday the center of Irene was located off the Atlantic coast of Florida about 600 kilometers (375 miles) southwest of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center reported.
Irene had weakened slightly, with winds of 175 kilometers (110 miles) per hour, though forecasters expected it to regain strength over the next 24 hours. The storm was moving towards the north at 22 kilometers (14 miles) per hour.
The storm was forecast to score a direct hit on New York City on Sunday with winds of up to 153 kilometers (93 miles) an hour.
US state and federal authorities warned of heavy rain, flooding from storm surges, and power outages. Some 65 million people live along the path that Irene will rake in the coming days.
"There\'s hardly any excuse for people not to know that there\'s a hurricane out there," said Craig Fugate, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, on Thursday, urging residents to heed authorities\' evacuation calls.
"People need to understand that their time will be running out to be prepared and be ready," he told reporters on a conference call.
Irene will be accompanied by an "extremely dangerous" storm surge that could raise water levels by as much as 3.4 meters (11 feet), the NHC said. In New York, officials fear this will cause widespread flooding, including damage to the subway system.
A hurricane warning was in effect from the North Carolina coast to parts of New Jersey. A hurricane watch extended as far north as Massachusetts.
The northeastern United States rarely gets hit by a hurricane: Gloria in 1985 was the last major hurricane to hit the New York area.
President Barack Obama declared an emergency in North Carolina and federal authorities said they had stored meals and bottled water for people in shelters.
The US military said that up to 98,000 National Guard soldiers were available if needed. Separately, ships with the navy\'s Second Fleet sailed out of their home port at Hampton Roads, Virginia, to ride out the storm at a safe distance.
"We\'re ordering all of our citizens off the coast," said North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue on Friday, noting the state couldn\'t forcibly eject people from an evacuation, but would be left "at the mercy of themselves and the storm."
Authorities in North Carolina\'s coastal Dare County -- home to up to 180,000 people -- warned emergency personnel would not be able to reach anyone who ignored the mandatory evacuation by Friday morning.
"If you choose to stay, we can\'t issue a criminal citation, but you are leaving yourself wide open to extreme conditions," county official Kelly Davis said.
In New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg warned residents to prepare to move to higher ground.
"If you have a car and live in a low-lying area, park it on a hill," Bloomberg told a press conference. "Move stuff upstairs."
Bloomberg authorized the evacuation of hospitals and other vulnerable institutions in the most low-lying areas of New York City, while neighboring New Jersey ordered 750,000 people out of the Cape May area.
Irene smashed through the Caribbean where it left at least five people dead before churning over the Bahamas on Wednesday.
