As Hurricane Irene menaces East Coast of the U.S., more than 70 million people in the path of the storm have begun preparing for the worst and hoping for the best.
Irene, currently downgraded to a Category 2 hurricane with 110 mph winds, could be one for the record books, with its unique forecast track up the Eastern Seaboard. The hurricane is a particularly slow-moving storm and authorities are concerned about how long it may linger over the cities and towns it strikes.
"One of my greatest nightmares was having a major hurricane go up the whole Northeast Coast," said Max Mayfield, the former chief of the National Hurricane Center, saying that it will lead to damages in the billions.
"This is going to have an impact on the United States economy," Mayfield added.
The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency noted the high value of property in major U.S. East Coast cities like New York, Philadelphia and Boston.
"We've got a lot more people that are potentially in the path of this storm," FEMA Director Craig Fugate told the Associated Press. "This is one of the largest populations that will be impacted by one storm at one time. A little bit of damage over big areas with large populations can add up fast."
Some scientists have said that the eye of the hurricane will fall directly on New York City, rattling Manhattan and Brooklyn and then moving up the coast.
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Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, under President Obama's direction, contacted East Coast mayors and governors potentially in Irene's path. Later, she and Fugate held a conference call with state, local, and tribal officials on planning for the storm.
"Given the unpredictability of these storms, we are currently planning for several scenarios, including potential impacts to major metro areas and critical infrastructure," Napolitano said in a Department of Homeland Security news release.
Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley has declared a state of emergency in preparation. He says the state is preparing for the potential destruction and is doing what it can to minimize the threat to public safety.
A state of emergency was declared in Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.
New York City's Mayor Michael Bloomberg said police are deploying more than 80 boats around the city as well as several helicopters to prepare for emergencies. City hospitals have tested their emergency generators, and the city's airports are stockpiling diapers, cots, blankets, pillow and bottles of water.
Experts say the skyscrapers in New York are built to withstand hurricane force wind, but it is the flooding that is the real problem.
In the major hurricane of 1821, all of lower Manhattan was under 13 feet of water.
Fearing Irene's wrath, Amtrak announced it is canceling all train service south of Washington D.C. for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Irene is traveling at 12 mph, making it a slow-moving storm which will allow it to hover over an area and area to dump rain and batter it with ferocious winds for an extended period.
It is expected to slam into the North Carolina coast Saturday afternoon and then churn north along the coast as far as Boston. She is expected to arrive in New York Sunday afternoon.
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