According to the National Hurricane Center's 2pm update today, Irene currently has sustained 100mph winds that are starting to affect the Carolina coastline (image: NASA). I think NYers are now starting to take this thing seriously. I went out last night to get some food and no one seemed even remotely concerned. But I went out again a little while ago to get some last-minute supplies and discovered all the flash lights and D batteries are gone, and people are buying lots of bottled water and non-perishable items. To quote one man I overheard: "There's like...no bread...it's so eerie!" Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg have ordered mandatory evacuations from all the coastal areas, and as of noon tomorrow they're shutting down the entire MTA subway and bus system until Monday morning, a first in its long history. Having been through a couple of hurricanes in FL (and at least 1 in NJ back in the '70s), I'm trying to be cautiously optimistic that this one won't be as bad as they're anticipating, only because I'm hopeful that it will weaken as it passes over NC and then move further northeast. Of course, we're still going to get hit with something no matter what, so it's always better to be safe than sorry. There may be flooding. And the electricity may be out for a while (suddenly I'm so happy I have my Why-Pad with 3G wireless Internet access!). Aside from that, I think I'm prepared with my emergency rations and my Goya-made Latino prayer candles. Whattya think?
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