Live updates: N.Y. area preps for possible evacuations

By Elizabeth Chuck and Jim Gold, msnbc.com

We'll bring you the latest on Irene, set to become the first major hurricane to hit the East Coast in seven years, here.

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2:15 p.m. ET: Another North Carolina county, Carteret, tells visitors and some island residents to leave before Hurricane Irene gets too close, Associated Press reports. Officials ordered a mandatory evacuation for all visitors and non-residents starting at 1 p.m. Thursday. Residents of the Bogue Banks, a barrier island that includes Atlantic Beach, Emerald Isle and other beach communities, are supposed to leave starting Friday at 6 a.m. Four shelters are being set up at county schools, which will be closed Friday. The county offers an array of hurricane preparedness information, including a list of emergency evacuation pet-friendly hotels.

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2 p.m. ET: New York City offers a map of hurricane evacuation zones, where residents are urged to prepare for heavy rain, storm surge and strong winds. You?can also find out if you?re in an evacuation zone by filling in your address on an online form.

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1:30 p.m. ET: Hoboken, N.J., officials urge residents to be prepared, and even make plans to get away. Mayor Dawn Zimmer says, "We will continue to monitor the situation as the storm progresses, and if conditions warrant it, will call for an evacuation, but at this time we are asking residents with family or friends in the area or the ability to stay elsewhere to consider leaving town early for the weekend. This is a threat that residents must take seriously."

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1:10 p.m. ET: Finally, some good news: It looks as though Hurricane Irene may spare the capital of Bahamas, Nassau, a major tourist destination with 200,000 residents. While it's been pummeling the smaller islands, it poses less of a risk to the capital.

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1:05 p.m. ET:?New York's Mayor Bloomberg says the city is positioning rescue boats and helicopters and working to minimize street flooding. New York is braced to experience at least tropical storm conditions and flooding starting on Saturday, Reuters reports; Irene could hit Long Island as a Category 2 hurricane.

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12:53 p.m. ET: NJ.com, while acknowledging Irene is still days away, reports the greatest impact to New Jersey will be likely be felt overnight Saturday through midday Sunday.

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12:32 p.m. ET: N.J. Gov. Chris Christie joins North Carolina and Virginia's governors in declaring a state of emergency.

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12:30 p.m. ET: National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read:?"Flooding and power outages and damage caused by trees is going to be a big story as the storm moves inland over the northeast." Even areas well away from the coast from North Carolina to New can expect 5 to 10 inches of rain and tropical-storm-force winds, he added.

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12:03 p.m. ET: White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest?says President Obama still plans to leave Martha's Vineyard on Saturday as previously scheduled. Irene is expected to make landfall in the Northeast on Sunday.

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12:00 p.m. ET: "This will not just be a coastal storm. We can see impacts well inland," FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate tells reporters.

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11:50 a.m. ET: Cool time-lapse of Hurricane Irene as of yesterday, courtesy of NOAA Visualizations:?

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11:30 a.m. ET: NBC's Lilia Luciano reports from the Bahamas, yelling over the howl of high winds, rain, and sleet around her:

Hurricane Irene, a powerful Category 3 storm, pounds the Bahamas. NBC's Lilia Luciano reports amid strong winds and torrential rain.

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11:21 a.m. ET: More counties in North Carolina are ordering mandatory evacuations, and the governor has declared a state of emergency for the part of the state east of I-95 ahead of Irene.

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11:11 a.m. ET: National Hurricane Center has released a new advisory, warning "an extremely dangerous storm surge will raise water levels by as much as 7 to 11 feet above normal tide levels over the central and northwest Bahamas," with rainfall of 6 to 12 inches there. Here's the latest map tracking the storm's projected path.

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11:00 a.m. ET: Virginia's governor has declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm's weekend arrival.

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10:55 a.m. ET: Check out photos from today, including this one from Miami of the calm before the storm:

Andy Newman / AP

Even though the center of Hurricane Irene is more than 230 miles away, clouds associated with extreme outer bands of the tropical cyclone swirl above calm waters of Biscayne Bay in Miami Thursday, Aug. 25, 2011. The National Hurricane Center has not issued any Irene-related watches or warnings for Miami or any other part of Florida because the storm's projected track should keep damaging winds well east of the state's coastline. (AP Photo/Andy Newman)

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10:35 a.m. ET: Dare County in coastal North Carolina has ordered a mandatory evacuation for all residents beginning at 8 a.m. ET.

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10:25 a.m. ET: NBC Virginia affiliate shows?how to make a hurricane kit for under 20 bucks.

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10:20 a.m. ET: With Irene likely to hit New York and Long Island this weekend with 4 to 8 inches of rain, Mayor Bloomberg said Thursday morning people in certain areas in lower Manhattan, Coney Island, and Queens might consider a voluntary evacuation. The last hurricane to hit the New York area was Hurricane Gloria in 1985.

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10:10 a.m. ET: Hurricane names are recycled, but certain names, such as Katrina in 2005, are retired if the storms were deadly and caused extreme damage, according to the World Meteorological Organization. Will "Irene" be retired? Here's a list of the names the National Hurricane Center has chosen for storms through 2016. An Atlantic storm called "Nana" is slated for 2014!

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10 a.m. ET: In addition to live updates here, you can find storm-related information and?photos on breakingnews.com, where we've just posted this Twitpic from @NBCNewsCrew in the Bahamas, captioned "It's raining sideways with winds upwards of 110 mph":

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9:55 a.m. ET: The Navy has ordered a fleet in Virginia, including at Norfolk Naval Station, to leave. The order applies to 64 ships in the area, some which are already at sea, The Associated Press reports.

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9:40 a.m. ET: Our partners at The Weather Channel tell us we should know within the next few hours how serious of a threat the National Hurricane Center considers this storm to be. The Center will be holding a briefing later this morning.

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9:20 a.m. ET: Damage reports are coming in from the Bahamas. No reports of deaths or injuries so far, thankfully, but an entire settlement known as Lovely Bay on Acklins Island has been destroyed, and at least 40 homes on the island of Mayaguana have been badly damaged, reports the National Emergency Management Agency.

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9:10 a.m. ET: An estimated 150,000 tourists are leaving North Carolina's Outer Banks after being told Thursday morning to cut short their vacations, The Associated Press reports. Some had already left as of Wednesday night. Locals are boarding up their homes and businesses.

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9:05 a.m. ET: Raw video of Irene in the Bahamas, via weather.com. The palm trees look as if they're barely hanging on:

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8:55 a.m. ET: From the Weather Channel, a map of Irene's projected path:

weather.com

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8:40 a.m. ET: North Carolina officials are scrambling to inspect bridges and get sandbags ready for potential floods. The National Hurricane Center has issued a hurricane watch for North Carolina's Outer Banks, which means hurricane conditions are possible within 36 hours. Further north, precautions so far are mainly wait-and-see as officials watch for developments in the forecast.

8:25 a.m. ET:?That earthquake that shook the East Coast earlier this week? That's so two days ago. Irene, which could become the first major hurricane to strike the East Coast in seven years, is what everyone is focused on now.

Here's what we know about Irene at this hour:

• Irene pounded the Bahamas as a Category 3 hurricane with winds at 115 mph early Thursday, causing widespread damage on at least two islands.
• Forecasters expect winds to increase over the next day: Irene is expected to become a Category 4 storm with winds of 131 mph or more.
• Irene could hit North Carolina's Outer Banks Saturday afternoon. It's then predicted to make its way up from Virginia to New York City, finally reaching land as a weakened storm in Connecticut, and trickling off in Maine by Monday.

You can track Hurricane Irene's path here.

Hurricane Irene battered the Bahamas Thursday morning, with heavy rain and dangerous winds, and forecasters say this powerful storm could cause significant damage to America's East Coast. NBC's Lilia Luciano and TODAY's Al Roker report.

Source: http://fieldnotes.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/08/25/7470837-eye-on-irene-live-hurricane-updates

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