Why are people freaking out about hurricane irene

Environment Planet Possible India bets its energy future on solar—in ways both small and big Grassroots efforts are bringing solar panels to rural villages without electricity, while massive solar arrays are being built across the country. Epic floods leave South Sudanese to face disease and starvation. Travel 5 pandemic tech innovations that will change travel forever These digital innovations will make your next trip safer and more efficient.

But will they invade your privacy? Go Further. Animals Wild Cities This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city. Animals This frog mysteriously re-evolved a full set of teeth. Animals Wild Cities Wild parakeets have taken a liking to London. Animals Wild Cities Morocco has 3 million stray dogs.

Meet the people trying to help. Animals Whales eat three times more than previously thought. Environment Planet Possible India bets its energy future on solar—in ways both small and big. Environment As the EU targets emissions cuts, this country has a coal problem. Paid Content How Hong Kong protects its sea sanctuaries. History Magazine These 3,year-old giants watched over the cemeteries of Sardinia. Magazine How one image captures 21 hours of a volcanic eruption.

Science Why it's so hard to treat pain in infants. Science The controversial sale of 'Big John,' the world's largest Triceratops. Science Coronavirus Coverage How antivirals may change the course of the pandemic. Science Coronavirus Coverage U. Travel A road trip in Burgundy reveals far more than fine wine.

Travel My Hometown In L. Travel The last artists crafting a Thai royal treasure. Subscriber Exclusive Content. Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars? How viruses shape our world. The era of greyhound racing in the U. See how people have imagined life on Mars through history.

See More. United States Change. Don't delay," said Obama, who decided to cut short his summer vacation by a day and return to Washington. Senior hurricane specialist Richard Pasch of the National Hurricane Center said there were signs that the hurricane may have weakened slightly, but strong winds continued to extend miles from its center.

The storm's center was about 50 miles south of Cape Lookout, North Carolina, as of 4 a. ET Saturday as the storm lumbered north-northeastward at 14 mph. Long before the storm's eye crossed the coastline, rain and tropical storm-force winds already were pelting North and South Carolina as Irene trudged north, snapping power lines and flooding streets.

Officials warned of dangerous rip currents. Wind and rains knocked out power to about 45, customers along the coast, including a hospital. Irene's wrath in the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas, gave a preview of what might be coming to the U.

The U. East Coast, home to some of the country's most densely populated cities and costliest waterfront real estate, was expected to suffer a multibillion-dollar disaster. At least 65 million people are in its projected track. Landfall was likely to be around 9 a. Massive evacuation effort With more coastal cities ordering evacuations ahead of Hurricane Irene, residents and tourists alike from North Carolina to New York City were moving toward higher ground.

Traffic jams as long as 20 miles were reported and some service stations in New Jersey and other areas ran out of gasoline, according to the Oil Price Information Service, which tracks supplies and prices.

Gasoline demand jumped 20 percent to 40 percent in Mid-Atlantic states, the service said. Evacuation orders covered 1 million people in New Jersey, , in New York, , in Maryland, , in North Carolina, , in Virginia and , in Delaware.

Some , people in nearby Long Island were also told to clear out by Saturday afternoon. The region can expect feet of water surge, the hurricane center said, "with the highest values possible in western Long Island Sound and New York Harbor.

These tidal conditions will be accompanied by large, destructive and life threatening waves. This massive, wet and slow-moving hurricane is forecast to soak a Northeast saturated by earlier rain and may come ashore at a time when tides are unusually high, making storm surge even worse — 4 to 11 feet with waves on top, forecasters say.

But it was not clear how many would do it, how they would get out or where they would go. Most New Yorkers don't have a car. New York's two airports are close to the water and could be inundated, as could densely packed neighborhoods, if the storm pushes ocean water into the city's waterways, officials said. The five main New York City-area airports planned to close to arriving passenger flights beginning at noon ET on Saturday, aviation officials said.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airports and area bridges and tunnels, said Friday that many weekend departures already had been canceled in anticipation of the hurricane. The suspension affects John F. It applies to domestic and international flights. Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark are among the busiest airports in the nation. Together, all five airports serve 1. Nobody's going to go to jail.

But if you don't follow this, people might die. Meanwhile, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said subways, buses and commuter trains in the city, on Long Island and in the northern suburbs will be suspended starting around noon Saturday. Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials have said they can't run the transit system once sustained winds reach 39 mph, and they need an eight-hour lead time to shut it down.

Officials have entreated residents to take it upon themselves to get out early, but it remained unclear how many would heed the warnings that subways and buses might not be there for them if they waited.

The MTA has never before halted its entire system — which carries about 5 million passengers on an average weekday — in advance of a storm, though the system was seriously hobbled by an August rainstorm that disabled or delayed every one of the city's subway lines.

On Thursday, Bloomberg ordered nursing homes and five hospitals in low-lying areas evacuated beginning Friday. At Coney Island Hospital, officials were transferring patients to six hospitals outside the evacuation zone. Even if the winds aren't strong enough to damage buildings in a metropolis made largely of brick, concrete and steel, a lot of New York's subway system and other infrastructure is underground and subject to flooding in the event of an unusually strong storm surge or heavy rains.

In the low-lying Financial District surrounding Wall Street, the New York Fed was readying contingency plans but expected normal functioning of its open market operations on Monday, a spokesman said.

The city had a brush with a tropical storm, Hanna, in that dumped 3 inches of rain in Manhattan. In the last years, New York has seen only a few significant hurricanes. In , a hurricane raised tides by 13 feet in an hour and flooded all of Manhattan south of Canal Street, the southernmost tip of the city. In the tourist district in Myrtle Beach late Friday, surfers and those who had walked down to the beach to watch the storm roiling the surf scattered.

Cars crept along Ocean Boulevard with their lights on in the downpour. A wind gust of 62 mph was reported at Springmaid Pier. At Edisto Beach, police reported waves of 10 to 12 feet and water on oceanside roads. At Folly Beach, significant erosion was reported. There was street flooding in Georgetown and standing water on roads up and down the coast. North Carolina Forecasters warned wind-whipped water could create a dangerous storm surge, with levels along North Carolina's Albemarle and Pamlico sounds rising as much as 11 feet.

Traffic was steady as people left the Outer Banks, which started getting heavy rain early Friday evening. Tourists were ordered to leave the barrier islands Thursday, though local officials estimated Friday that about half the residents on two of the islands have ignored evacuation orders.

In Nags Head, police officer Edward Mann cruised the streets in search of cars in driveways — a telltale sign some planned to stay behind. He warned those that authorities wouldn't be able to help holdouts, and that electricity and water could be out for days.