# 5785
Although Irene has failed to strengthen (and has actually weakened slightly overnight), she remains a large and formidable storm with sustained winds of 110 MPH.
Irene is traveling over very warm waters that are conducive to maintaining, or perhaps even increasing, her strength and is now just about 36 hours away from an anticipated landfall along the North Carolina coast.
This is a very large storm with hurricane force winds extending as far as 90 miles from its center, and tropical force winds 290 miles. Her impact will be widely felt along a long stretch of the coast and further inland, and will affect millions of people over the next 72 hours.
For residents along the mid-Atlantic coastline, today is the last day to make any last minute preparations, and to leave if you must. Residents need to pay close attention to their local office of emergency management, and if advised to evacuate, do so immediately.
One of the biggest threats along the coastline will likely come from storm surge.The following video from the NHC (National Hurricane Center) illustrates this danger.
(Storm Tide vs Surge Tide) – Credit NOAA
Depending upon many factors - such as the size and strength of the storm, its angle of approach, the depth of the water, and the shape of the coastline - storm surges in some coastal areas have run 20 feet or more.
The last major landfalling hurricane in the United States was Ike, in 2008. Below is a photo of the remnants of Crystal Beach, Texas after being scoured by wind, wave, and surge.
Hence the need to evacuate low lying coastal areas. A `sturdy’ shelter isn’t always a safe shelter.
The National Hurricane Center has an interactive storm surge map showing the probabilities of various levels of surge along the coast. Below you’ll see a map showing the probabilities of a 6 foot + storm surge from Irene this weekend.
The NHC also maintains a current list of local Hurricane statements from various National Weather Bureaus regarding Irene. If you live in any of these areas you should consult them to get the best information for your area.
These statements are also available at weather.gov
This weekend’s hurricane threat is exactly the reason why FEMA, Ready.gov, and many other agencies are continually urging everyone to:
Having an emergency `to go’ kit or `BOB’ is an important part of your preparations, and could literally save your life in an emergency.
In the vernacular, a `bug-out bag' or `BOB’ is a bag of emergency supplies, ideally kept at the ready, that one can grab on the way out the door during an emergency.
Every hurricane I go through my personal bug out bag, and replace flashlight and radio batteries from last year, and swap out older emergency rations for newer ones.
A BOB isn't supposed to be a survival kit, but rather, is supposed to provide the essentials one might need during the first 72 hours of a forced, and sometimes unexpected, evacuation.
It should contain food, water, any essential prescription medicines, copies of important papers (ID's, insurance, important Phone #s), a first aid kit, portable radio, flashlight, extra batteries, and ideally blankets and extra clothes.
You can view the contents of my BOB in Inside My Bug Out Bag.
Ready.gov has the following advice on how to prepare for an evacuation order.
Evacuating
There may be conditions under which you will decide to get away, or there may be situations when you are ordered to leave. Plan how you will assemble your family and anticipate where you will go. Choose several destinations in different directions so you have options in an emergency.
Create an evacuation plan:
- Plan places where your family will meet, both within and outside of your immediate neighborhood.
- If you have a car, keep a half tank of gas in it at all times in case you need to evacuate.
- Become familiar with alternate routes and other means of transportation out of your area.
- If you do not have a car, plan how you will leave if you have to.
- Take your emergency supply kit unless you have reason to believe it has been contaminated.
- Lock the door behind you.
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Take your pets with you, but understand that only service animals may be permitted in public shelters. Plan how you will care for your pets in an emergency.
If time allows:
- Call or email the "out-of-state" contact in your family communications plan.
- Tell them where you are going.
- If there is damage to your home and you are instructed to do so, shut off water, gas and electricity before leaving.
- Leave a note telling others when you left and where you are going.
- Check with neighbors who may need a ride.
No one wants to leave their home in an emergency, but sometimes there is no other rational choice. Many who failed to heed the evacuation order in New Orleans prior to the arrival of hurricane Katrina didn’t survive.
Being prepared to evacuate in advance will not only make the process easier, it could be lifesaving as well.
