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6-11 Feet Storm Surge Forecast in North Carolina; Atlantic City Mandatory Evacuation; FEMA Update on Hurricane Irene; Irene Expected to Hug East Coast All the Way Up

Aired August 26, 2011 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: Better safe than sorry; up and down the East Coast that seems to be the mantra as Hurricane Irene closes in. Thousands of coastal residents are heading inland and thousands more battening down the hatches. It's an unusual and abrupt end of the summer season. And even with the storm still hundreds of miles away, it's dangerous out there. Some rough surf in south Florida swept eight people off of a jetty. Fortunately everybody is ok.

We have crews deployed up and down the East Coast covering the storm from Reynolds Wolf in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina to Athena Jones in Annapolis, Maryland and Jason Carroll in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, plus Mary Snow in New York City. And here in the hurricane headquarters, Jacqui Jeras.

We have all angles covered here. Let's start with Reynolds Wolf in North Carolina's Outer Banks. Reynolds, it looks peaceful right now but we know that is the calm before the storm.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. But you know you are right. It is really odd in that aspect. If you happen to be in one of the hotels along the beach and you have had your nose in a book the last couple of days, you would never know there is a monstrous tropical system heading in this direction.

I mean, it's so prestige, you look down the beach, not a soul to be seen anywhere. White caps coming in. We have seen a few lone surfers out there braving the elements undertows tremendous along this coastline. People are out there anyway, a few of them, offering up enjoying the waves that are coming in.

The waves are getting a little bit bigger. Take a look at this side, the same thing, pretty much of an empty beach. A few handful of people that we saw early this morning and you know, the thing that's interesting about it is we were told the number of people here on given day on the outer banks are around 250,000 people.

Also to correct a number I said earlier, the people that live on the outer banks year round in excess of 57,000. So when you have those many people and you have a system that is this big, that is moving in this direction. It has the outer banks in its crosshairs, you've to evacuate.

Thankfully now, we have Bobby out with us. Bobby Outten is with the Dare County Management. Bobby, how are the evacuations been so far?

BOBBY OUTTEN, DARE COUNTY, N.C. MANAGER: Very smooth. They have been evacuating since - before sunlight yesterday and there been smooth all day. The traffic isn't backed up. They are leaving now as well.

WOLF: You were telling us earlier off the air that this is something that the people on the outer banks handle basically every weekend, right?

OUTTEN: We do. We evacuate every Saturday on change every day and the population changes to come back in for the following week.

WOLF: Yesterday, let's clear up a little bit of confusion. Yesterday, there was a mandatory evacuation for tourists, correct?

OUTTEN: Right.

WOLF: And then now there's a mandatory evacuation for the residents. But when you say mandatory, are you not forcing people out of their homes? They can't stay, correct?

OUTTEN: We don't physically pull them out of their homes, but we do everything that we can do to encourage them to leave. And to explain to them what the risks are so that they will leave.

WOLF: Mr. Outten, you lived here in the outer banks for decades. You know this area very, very well. What kind of advice would you give to people that actually make that decision to stay behind?

OUTTEN: If they've chosen that, they've chosen to take a risk then they need to be prepared for being cut off for a number of days in their homes depending on what occurs in the storm. We will not be able to do anything.

Beginning with the hurricane-force winds start about 8:00 tomorrow morning until the storm gets out here some time on Sunday, we cannot help them. We cannot provide services to them. We can't provide health care to them. We cannot do anything for them. We cannot rescue them. So that is a risky choice.

WOLF: Absolutely. It is a choice they will have to live with for quite a while as the storm makes its way up the seaboard again. Mr. Outten, thanks so much for your time. Get some sleep. I know it's going to be a long time for you.

Crazy times on the outer banks, everyone is bracing for what is coming. What's coming is Irene. Back to you in the studio.

ACOSTA: Thanks, Reynolds. Also, there is a state of emergency in New Jersey where a hurricane watch is up for the entire Jersey shore.

CNN's Jason Carroll join us live from Point Pleasant. Jason, it looks nice there right now, but we know that's going to change. JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim, you and I both know this is not going to last. I will update you on the information because the mayor of Point Pleasant Beach has just completed a briefing with emergency officials.

So let's just give you a little bit of updated information in terms on what is happening here in our area. A mandatory evacuation is already in place for the tourists who are here. At 3:00, they're going to decide if a mandatory evacuation will also go into effect for the residents who live here.

So we will be waiting for that. In terms of the rest of the state, a mandatory evacuation already in place for Atlantic City. Casinos no longer accepting reservations and asking people who are there to leave and seek safer areas.

Jim, a mandatory evacuation in place for Cape May County's Barrier Islands in order to make the flow of traffic to move easier for those who are trying to get out. They have, in fact, decided to suspend the tolls on the garden state parkway.

That will help those people who are trying to get to a safer area move along freely. Again, Governor Christie, the governor here in New Jersey urging people to take these evacuation orders seriously. We spoke to some tourists who are here and are deciding to get out while they can. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm anticipating a long ride home. It should normally have taken me maybe an hour and 15, you know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: We want to take you now to a FEMA press conference that is happening right now. This is happening as you can see. This is Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano leading the press conference. Let's listen in.

(PRESS CONFERENCE)

ACOSTA: So there you have it. The press conference there with the Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano and the director of FEMA, Craig Fugate, all warning Americans up and down the east coast to be ready for this hurricane.

The secretary of Homeland Security saying watching this hurricane is a little bit science and little bit art. Don't focus too much if it's a Category 2 or Category 3 because you won't be able to tell the difference.

And Craig Fugate from FEMA saying be prepared for power outages that could last days. We will have more on Irene coming up in a just few moments. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ACOSTA: We want to follow-up on that news conference you just saw with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and the director of FEMA, Craig Fugate and their warnings about Hurricane Irene. Let's turn now to meteorologist Jacqui Jeras.

Jacqui, you listened to the some of the same information that came out of that news conference. What did you think? This is starting to sound like many of the warnings that we heard before Hurricane Katrina except this for the east coast.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. This is for the east coast. This is going to be affecting more people ultimately because the population is so centralized right there. We will have more issues with this one in terms of power outages being widespread and the inland flooding. That flooding could be going on for weeks and weeks.

But a lot of great points out of that press conference that the intensity of the storm. You are splitting hairs when you talk between a two and three overall, you know, a one or a two, you know, if it's a strong one or a weak two. Will it make t hat much of a difference?

So you want to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Most certainly and just rush to finish all of the final preparations. There's a lot of great information about evacuation and listen to your local people. Get online if you have not already to find if you are in these evacuation zones or if you could potentially be threatened.

Storm surge will be one of the greatest problems we will deal with the system with Irene. It could go several miles inland. Keep that in mind as well. But if you get out of the way from the water, you will be OK. The other issues inland are things like power outages and the trees, which, you know, the ground is saturated. They will be more likely to be uprooted and toppled over. You don't have a lot of control if the wind pushes a tree over your house unfortunately.

All right, let's talk about the status of the storm. It is a Category 2, maximum winds of 110 miles per hour. Some intensification is going to be possible. It is moving straight north. There is really nothing out there to deviate it from the track.

Other than natural bobbles or little wobbles that happen very naturally in cycles of hurricanes. We put a distance track on here to show you how close it is from where we think it will be making landfall. That is some 260 miles. The tropical storm force conditions have arrived here.

We're going to be seeing those gusts with the showers and thundershowers as they continue to move in. So conditions are going downhill and we think you're going to be feeling the hurricane-force winds and impact as we head into the late hours for tonight and tomorrow morning, really probably the worst of it for you into the Carolinas.

Let's show you the projected path, talk a little bit about that. Here you can you can see that cone of uncertainty and notice it's gotten a lot smaller, hasn't it? Our computer models showing a much tighter run going through here. So, we have a lot of confidence now that we're probably going to see two landfalls out of this.

Even if we get that lucky slightly right turn up here into the Northeast, we're still going to be seeing a lot of power outages and a lot of flooding. So, either way you slice this, it's certainly is in a great situation and this is a Sunday event for you in the Northeast by the way. So, you got a little bit more time to prepare than the rest of the folks there.

Let's show you the rainfall forecast, like this one. This is the rainfall forecast. It also helps to give you a better idea of how far inland this thing is. Look at where all of that rain is going to go. We're talking, you know, west of Raleigh, over into Charlotte, into Virginia -- west Virginia and western Pennsylvania almost, and almost covering all of Upstate New York and you can see all of New England certainly is going to be feeling this as well.

This dark purple area, that's where the heaviest accumulation of rain is expected to be and it's usually just to the right of the center of the storm as all that moisture gets thrown in here from the Atlantic Ocean. So, six to 10 inches easily, isolated up to 15 inches and that is going to continue to be a big problem as well.

So, a very strong, very formidable storm. Some intensity as it heads up to North Carolina and then weaker as it gets into the Northeast. We got a little wind shear, the water temperature is a little cooler. So that's the best thing we can look forward to with the potential for it getting weaker as it moves up the coast.

But no matter how you slice, Jim, you got to be ready. It's going to be a very devastating storm for a lot of people.

ACOSTA: OK. We can only hope for the best. Jacqui Jeras, thanks so much. We appreciate it.

Atlantic City is one of the Northeast's biggest tourist destinations. And it's already under mandatory evacuation orders. We will find out what they are doing to keep everybody safe. Hopefully, they're not gambling with Irene. And we'll check on Atlantic City after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Atlantic City has seen its share of storms, but for long time residents, one in particular, stands out. Since September of 1944, the coastline was devastated by the great Atlantic hurricane. Look at those archive pictures there.

Some of Atlantic City's best known landmarks were damaged or destroyed. Well, a lot of people see similarities between that storm and hurricane Irene.

Joining us now on the phone is Tom Foley, Atlantic City's director of emergency services.

Tom, let's hope those comparisons are way off. How is the city doing right now preparing for the storm?

TOM FOLEY, ATLANTIC CITY DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY SERVICES (via telephone): Well, the city is currently under mandatory evacuation. We are getting people out of harm's way. We have several thousand people that we are moving at the present time and getting into shelters throughout the mainland communities and even into different counties. We are working on that all along and we have been working on it all morning long.

ACOSTA: And the city's casinos are shutting down. That does not happen very often.

That right there should be an indication to people that this is being taken very seriously, is that right?

FOLEY: That's exactly right. You cannot make anymore certain that this is the most serious storm that we faced in decades.

The storm you are referring to was a brush by, approximately 80 miles off the coast of New Jersey.

ACOSTA: Wow.

FOLEY: So, you can imagine when this thing is coming dead at us. And that wasn't even a hurricane. It's barely a hurricane.

This one could be a category two hurricane. It could cause some very devastating amount of damage. We have a lot of old buildings in town. Thankfully, we have a lot of new structures that should hold up very well. We are keeping an eye on everything.

And the best thing we're doing is getting people out of harm's way. And people have been terrific and cooperating with us. We see a lot of people that are leaving and getting in their cars and doing their emergency plans. That's what we have been teaching them for a number of years and hopefully, they'll do the same thing.

ACOSTA: And, Tom, I remember covering Hurricane Katrina in Biloxi, Mississippi and seeing what happened to those casinos. Many of those were barges, obviously, that were flooded after that storm. Are you concerned about what the storm surge, if there is a storm surge, that's serious there -- what that might do to those casinos, those hotels that are vital to your economy?

FOLEY: Well, we believe we have the hotels protected. We planned them accordingly. They are faced back off the beach and boardwalk and off the actual bay area, too. So, we feel pretty confident that they're going to remain OK.

So -- they are built to our specifications, not just the light specifications. They are built to heavy duty specifications. So, we are confident they will hold down any type of damage.

ACOSTA: All right. Tom, it sounds like your city is not betting against Irene at this point. Tom Foley on the phone with us from Atlantic City, New Jersey. Best of luck to you, sir. Thanks for being with us.

FOLEY: Well, thank you, Jim. I appreciate it.

ACOSTA: All right. Residents on the Jersey Shore are bracing for an direct hit from hurricane Irene. We will talk with more folks there in that area about preparations for this monster storm.

And we are keeping an eye up and down the East Coast as Irene makes its approach towards landfall.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Welcome back.

We have reporters up and down the East Coast following Irene today and throughout the weekend. We'll also bring you latest on Irene's track from our weather center.

Let's check in first with CNN meteorologist Reynolds Wolf in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, on the outer banks.

And Reynolds, I can see right there behind you, the waves are starting to kick up. You can start to feel the effects of this it looks like.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. It's not only the waves. It's the occasional telltale rain drop that you'll get. But other than, there really is no sign that we are seeing or really experiencing much at the moment.

A look down the beach shows something that's very odd for this time of year. Any other day in August in North Carolina, in the outer banks for North Carolina, you could possibly have anywhere from, you know, 200,000, even 250,000 people from around the country coming here to visit the outer banks. Not only that, but the outer banks also has a year-round population of about 57,000 people.

Now, yesterday, they had the mandatory evacuation for all visitors. A lot of people actually left days before. Many people canceled their vacations all together.

Now, today, as of 8:00 a.m., that's when they began the mandatory evacuations for residents. But not everyone has to leave. So, that's kind of an interesting prospect.

We were out and about speaking with several people, including Judy Potts, who left very quickly. She didn't want to take any chances.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDY POTTS, TOURIST: I'm upset. But, you know, I guess -- hopefully, there will be other vacations. I'm concerned because all of the storms have been much worse than anybody has expected. So, that's why I'm scared about this one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF: The outer banks have been a punching bag for tropical systems for centuries. You have to remember, this is basically a giant sand berm, really just a strand of islands that stretches some 200 miles right along the outer banks of North Carolina. The widest point of Cape Hatteras which is really about three miles wide at that spot.

In terms of height, elevation above sea level, some places where it's is only about seven to even 11 feet above sea level. And should this system intensify, should it bring any kind of significant storm surge from either the Atlantic or back on the sound, or the other side of the outer banks, you're going to have some serious issues in terms of flooding, and with it brings in, say, any where from eight to 12 foot storm surge -- to definitely amazing effects, no question about it.

We do expect the worst of it really to develop overnight and by tomorrow morning, it's going to look very different within 24 hours from this point. Back to you.

ACOSTA: Reynolds, it's amazing to see that so beach empty. Thanks very much. We'll check back with you.

From the outer banks to the Jersey Shore, let's go north and check back in with our Jason Carroll who is in Point Pleasant, New Jersey.

What do you have for us, Jason?

CARROLL: Well, Jim, it looks deceptively calm behind me here at Point Pleasant Beach, and that's because a lot of tourists are still coming out here, still taking advantage of these last minute bits of sun that we've got. They are still taking a few reservations here at this kiosk. Not many but just a few.

You can see the boardwalk here. Still folks coming out, still trying to enjoy a bit of the sun even Point Pleasant beach is under a mandatory evacuation for out of towners, for tourists.

At 3:00, they're going to decide whether or not that mandatory evacuation extends to residents.

I'm going to bring in the mayor here of Point Pleasant Beach, Mayor Vinnie Barrella.

Mr. Mayor, tell us what you expect to decide at that 3:00 meeting?

MAYOR VINCENT BARRELLA, POINT PLEASANT BEACH, N.J.: OEM will make the decision as to whether or not to make the evacuation mandatory or continue voluntary evacuation. That will be based upon the weather projections, the storm projections. Likely it will be mandatory east of our railroad tracks and voluntary west of our tracks.

CARROLL: Now, I know -- does it concern you at all that you see some of these out of towners still coming up? I know one woman just came up to you a while ago asking about it?

BARRELLA: It doesn't concern me today as long as we -- they know that they've got to be out of here and they're not going to be here tomorrow.

My real concern is people coming up to look at the storm and watch the waves and stuff because our first responders are not going to be able to go out and bail somebody out if they get themselves in trouble.

CARROLL: Definitely. Definitely a warning a lot should heed. I know that on the Garden State Parkway, the tolls have been suspended. That should certainly help ease some of the traffic. But what you don't want to see is everyone trying to get out either late today or early tomorrow.

BARRELLA: Well, yes. People here visiting should get out today. They should be out already. From the voluntary point of view, they should get out tomorrow morning.

CARROLL: Very good. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Really appreciate you coming out to help us this morning.

Once again, at about 3:00 today, Jim, they will have a briefing to decide whether or not mandatory evacuations will be extended for the residents here as well. We will keep you posted. Jim?

ACOSTA: Thanks, Jason. We hope those folks who are walking behind you, those tourists are on their way out of town. Jason Carroll for us this morning in New Jersey on the Jersey shore. Thanks so much, Jason. Appreciate it.

Now, let's not forget Maryland. The governor there, Martin O'Malley, has declared a state of emergency ahead of Irene, telling residents to be prepared on their own -- to be on their own for at least the next 72 hours.

CNN's Athena Jones joins us live from the capital of Maryland in Annapolis. Athena, it looks very calm there, very peaceful. But we know that downtown area where you are can be prone to flooding if there is the right storm coming in.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Jim. We spoke not long ago with the mayor of Annapolis. And right now, city officials are expecting a storm surge of two to three feet. And so, while Annapolis may not get as direct a hit from the storm as some other points along the coast, the impact in terms of flooding will be pretty significant because we are in a low-lying, flood-prone area. We are talking 6 to 8 inches of rain between Saturday and Sunday. This is already an area that the businesses and homes around here saw themselves under several feet of water after Hurricane Isabel in 2003. And I've spoken to some residents here who say it floods often, even without a major hurricane. And so officials here want to make sure people take this seriously.

Of course, the surge with Hurricane Isabel was a record surge, over seven feet. So we're talking about a smaller one. And yet, people want to make sure that residents take it seriously. They're encouraging people in low-lying areas to go ahead and clear out voluntarily. We are talking about a ballpark figure of maybe 500 to 1,000 homes.

They set up Annapolis High School as a place where people can go to shelter in place if they can't get further away. There will be buses available to take people if they can't get out on their own. There will be a reverse 911 call warning system to help inform residents.

And overall, the message to residents is to take this seriously and not to gamble. Let's listen to what Mayor Joe Cohen -- Josh Cohen, excuse me -- had to say earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR JOSH COHEN, ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND: I'm concerned that people are going to assume that it will just stay too far off the coast and not take it seriously enough. We are doing everything we can to make sure people are taking it seriously and are prepared. We would much rather have a situation where everyone stocked up on batteries and bread and toiletries and have the hurricane go out to sea than have the reverse happen - where they're not taking it seriously, and then we get whomped.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: And so we are spending the day look at people making preparations, picking up sand bags. Companies are going to be setting up sandbags outside of their doors. We saw people early this morning beginning to take their boats out of this inner harbor out to a safer harbor. So, you see a lot of empty slips around me. We will keep watching, Jim.

ACOSTA: Yes, this time of year, Athena, down at the dock there, you can obviously see a lot of boats this time of year. And it is amazing to see how quiet it is behind you. And all of those boats heading to hopefully safer waters. So, we hope that folks in that part of the country are taking precautions there.

Athena Jones, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Now, there are some travel concerns also to worry about besides moving your boat out of harm's way. New York, Washington, Boston, Philadelphia, they are home to some of the busiest airports in the country. And they could all be impacted by Hurricane Irene. All on alert for flight cancellations and delays over the next several days. CNN's Alexandra Steele has a travel update. Hello, Alexandra.

ALEXANDRA STEELE, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi. You know, the enormity of the travel disruption here is really unprecedented on so many fronts. We are talking about trains, planes and automobiles. And can you imagine the intersection of 65 million people living between New England and Norfolk, Virginia? A 435-mile wide hurricane and the interaction between that. So, it has been incredible and certainly will be.

Airports have been impacted. Miami, Savannah and Richmond. But now, jst getting word that JetBlue in anticipation of this in and out of New York City already for Saturday night and Sunday canceling over 400 flights. That is really become the new standard operating procedure. In anticipation of the storm, they begin canceling as opposed to waiting for it on the door step.

All right, you just heard Jim just talk about D.C. and Baltimore and JFK and LaGuardia. And one interesting thing about JFK and LaGuardia, as we head toward tomorrow and tonight, you will begin to hear about Zone A. That is the lowest area in and around New York City. The most vulnerable to storm surge and flooding. And JFK and LaGuardia both in the Zone A evacuation, meaning - just put your head around this. A mental picture of all those runways on at the two airports covered in water. That is the expectation.

All right. So also, the trains. Amtrak canceling south of Washington D.C. All already have been canceled. Expectation, of course, more cancellations in the Northeast. Long Island Railroad, again, reducing service already in anticipation of the storm and moving all their heavy artillery and really all of these trains out of low-lying areas to safer harbor.

Total shutdown certainly possible for Long Island Railroad. Can you only imagine, the L.I.E., driving along that as well.

Pennsylvania, the SEPTA. Setpa.org. If you're in and around Pennsylvania, of course, the (INAUDIBLE) river will be impacted. A lot of the trains running near and above that water.

All right. Also, New York City. Now, this also unprecedented. Trains, buses, subways are all under the auspices and umbrella of the Metro Transit Association. We heard a lot about Mayor Bloomberg and will continue to talk tomorrow morning. Will they or won't they - and the expectation is they will -- suspend service in all the trains, the buses - can you imagine? And also with the subways?

Why would they do that? This cannot run with the winds and certainly they can be 39 miles per hour or above. The trains, the buses and the subways will not before. Never before has that been done. And the cause never before being the weather.

All right. Things to do. Number one, get gas. Not only for your car but also to use it as a power source for you to charge, of course, your laptops. Your phones. Everything so crucial.

Also, while we talk about money, get out there. Get money. You will need it.

Power is going to be really key, Jim. Why? In the northeast, the ground is so saturated. This August, we have seen the wettest August we've ever seen in the Northeast. That very saturated ground with these high winds, forget it. That is the recipe for power outages. So, none of this will really be accessible.

ACOSTA: All right. Alexandra, thank you so much. We appreciate it. We hope folks out there pack some patience as they head to the airport this weekend. We will have more on Irene and what to expect in the coming hours and days with our meteorologist Jacqui Jeras. That's coming up in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: All right. We want to bring you some breaking news. Our affiliate KETV is reporting that an Amtrak train carrying 175 people has derailed in southwest Nebraska. Now, at this point, we don't know how serious this derailment is. Whether or not there are any injuries. But of course, we will keep tabs on this along with everything else this morning with Hurricane. This is obviously not related to the hurricane. We will be keeping tabs on that as well as bring you the latest information just as soon as we get it.

Our meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is tracking Irene as it closes in on the East Coast. Jacqui, what is the latest?

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, we're waiting for that 11:00 advisory to come in, Jim. Usually, we'll get it a little bit before 11:00, but it's not quite in yet. So, we are still holding at that Category 2 storm with winds. 105-mile-per-hour, actually. OK, it just authomatically updated. There you go.

105. So, that is a little bit more weakening. We have a eyewall replacement cycle we think, going on. So, it makes it collapse a little bit. But ultimately, it can get stronger when that happens. So, don't be too concerned about this weakening because ultimately, you still need to be prepared for a major hurricane.

All right. This should be an updated track then for you too. You can see it continuing to make the northerly turn heading to the Carolinas late tonight or tomorrow morning, and then heading on up to the Northeast coast. There you can see, it all pretty much keeps it on shore now. So, I think we are looking at two landfalls.

So, this continues to be a developing situation. That forecast track looking more certain and unfortunately, more dangerous for the Carolinas as well as much of the Northeast. Jim.

ACOSTA: Jacqui, thanks so much.

Coming up next, the CNN NEWSROOM continues with Suzanne Malveaux. I'm Jim Acosta sitting in this morning for Kyra Phillips. We'll be keeping an eye on Hurricane Irene as it chugs toward the East Coat. And of course, you can follow all of the latest updates on this hurricane right here on CNN. Thanks for joining us this morning. And Suzanne is up next.

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