Saturday, August 27, 2011

Irene Makes Landfall, Spawns Tornadoes as it Churns Its Way Up East Coast

Hurricane Irene made landfall outside of Nags Head, NC at around 7:30 AM ET today, bringing with it storm surges and winds of 85 MPH. So far, Irene is blamed for at least six deaths in the region since Friday and has left millions without electrical power in the Carolinas and Virgina. The storm also spawned a series of tornadoes that struck parts of an already evacuated Virginia Beach, VA.

In Washington D.C., the District's Department of Public works was giving out sandbags to DC residents in the parking lot of RFK stadium, while Philadephia's mayor declared a state of emergency- the city's first such delcaration since 1986.

New York City took the unprecedented step of shutting down the subway and bus system while issuing a mandatory evacuation order for the lower-lying parts of the city, including the area around Battery Park and Wall Street.

After cancelling trains south of Washington DC, Amtrak announced that they would be cancelling all trains north of Washington DC this weekend, including the Northeast Corridor, Keystone Corridor and Empire service.

In Boston, while fishermen and lobstermen north of the hub were bringing in their vessels and gear ahead of Irene's arrival, airlines are expected to cancel their flights into and out of Logan Airport and MBTA is suspending bus, subway, ferry and commuter rail service on Sunday.

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