Even before Hurricane Irene hit the Carolinas, evacuations were underway as far north as New York and New Jersey. President Obama said federal agencies are preparing with states and cities for a "historic" storm that could be "extremely dangerous and costly." As many as 55 million people live in areas threatened with power outages, high winds and flooding where heavy rains already have saturated the ground. Major airports are in the path of the storm, rail lines could be under water and highways are closed — with potential impact on transportation nationwide. We hear what's being done to prepare for the worst and the possible aftermath.
Emergency Preparations Ramp Up as the Northeast Waits for Irene
Credits
Guests:
- Dennis Feltgen - National Hurricane Center
- Kim Severson - national food correspondent, New York Times - @kimseverson
- Amber Parker - Pender County Emergency Management
- Meredith Kruse - Virginian-Pilot
- Mike Madden - Washington City Paper
- Colby Hamilton - WNYC
- Jim Rosenbluth - Cushman and Wakefield
- Ivor van Heerden - Center for the Study of Public Health Impact of Hurricanes
- Joe Sharkey - New York Times
- Joe Brancatelli - JoeSentMe.com