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East Coast Bracing For Irene; Gadhafi Secret Tunnels; Military Prepares For Irene; D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray Addresses Media; Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick Addresses Media
Aired August 26, 2011 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It is 1:00 p.m. on the East Coast where more than 60 million people are awaiting their encounter with Hurricane Irene.
Hurricane warnings are in effect from coastal North Carolina to just south of New York City. Gusty winds and choppy seas already are being felt on the outer banks, and worse is on the way, much worse.
President Barack Obama is watching Irene from Martha's Vineyard, but not for long. We have just learned that he is heading back to Washington today, a day ahead of schedule. Earlier he called Irene a historic storm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I cannot stress this highly enough, if you are in the projected path of the hurricane, you have to take precautions now. Don't wait, don't delay. We all hope for the best but have to be prepared for the worst.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Irene is on track to follow the northeast corridor right up to New England and beyond and CNN is there. Reynolds Wolf is live this hour from Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, Jason Carroll is in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey, and Athena Jones is in Annapolis, Maryland. But we're going to start right here in the weather center with CNN Meteorologist Chad Myers. So Chad, give us an idea of where Irene is now.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Not too much changed overnight except that storm did get a little bit stronger. And as it got stronger, you could see the eye, especially around 2:00 in the morning, you could truly see the eye. And there is was right there, and now we don't see it anymore. And that tells me that the storm is being torn up a little bit by just a little bit of sheer.
Now, you have to remember what happened to this storm. It's still a 105-mile-per-hour storm and it doesn't say category 3 and it's not going to say category 4 anymore but don't let your guard down with this. Here's what happened with this storm. If you think about what happened to Andrew, if you think about what happened to Hugo, they came straight in to the U.S. coast, right straight in. There was nothing else affecting those storms, there was no wind, nothing to turn them.
Well, this storm was being pushed by wind the entire time it approached to U.S. East Coast, that caused the turn. It also caused a decrease in intensity of the wind. It caused the storm, the hurricane itself, to be torn up a little bit. Well, now that turn is over and that influence is over and it gets to go straight for a while. It has the potential to regain a little bit of strength, so even by the time it hits North Carolina, whether it's either from almost Wilmington, still offshore to about Cape Hatteras, notice now how the cone is getting smaller, see how that happens? That's because it's getting closer so as the cone gets bigger and bigger and bigger the farther you get away, now North Carolina you are really in a very small cone. So, the left and the right, the error is much smaller, looks like somewhere between Moorhead City, Atlantic Beach, and also into Ocracoke Island, is your landfall at 105 miles per hour. Now that cone gets a little bit bigger over Virginia Beach, maybe offshore, maybe a little bit farther inland. And if it's inland and it goes into the Chesapeake Bay, that could cause a surge into the bay, even all the way up to Annapolis. We'll have to watch that.
Following the track right through the middle, it looks like it's going to descend right on the Jersey shore, all the way from Cape May, right through Wildwood, and straight on up to state of New York, and then into the New York City area. To the east of there is where all the wind is going to be, the heaviest wind and also possibly the tornadoes. And that could be here, even though you may not get a lot of wind in Massachusetts and Connecticut, if it's further to the west, that spin is still potentially making tornados for you which could cause just as much damage, if not more, than the hurricane itself.
The storm has gone down a little bit. You're not going to see that 135 potential anymore, but I tell you what, I don't want you to let your guard down. You think about what an 85 mile-per-hour storm would do over the city, it's going to still have the potential to make a lot of damage monetarily and also physically.
WHITFIELD: Right. And even inland, as you can see right there particularly up in the northeast corridor there, we're talking about, you know, a lot more potential damage inland, not just hovering around the coast.
MYERS: Correct. This is where the potential for tornados would be to the east of the eye, but also all the way back here through the Appalachian chain, and even all that fresh water rain, we could see 10 inches of rainfall in a couple of -- five hours, and that could cause significant flooding there along the western side of the eye as well.
WHITFIELD: All right. Chad, we'll check back with you. Let's find out just how people are bracing along the coastal cities. Let's go to North Carolina right now in the barrier islands there. Reynolds Wolf is there, what's happening? Kill Devil Hills, they are used to this kind of drill, what's different this time?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Now, as of this point, really you really couldn't it's a bad time in terms of the rough weather. I mean, in fact, it looks like a tranquil day. I mean, if you look out behind me, you can see that we've got a series of waves coming in, nothing really too bad. A few white caps here and there but for the most part pretty tranquil. We've got a few people here enjoying the sun, but if you pan around a little bit more in this direction, you see clear of the beach, not a soul. And that's an amazing thing in itself that here we are in August on a great summer afternoon, you would expect there would be all kinds of people out here.
In fact, on any given day in August you'd have upwards of 250,000 people here, on top of that, you also have about 57,000 people who live here year round. A moment ago, you saw that flag over there -- they happened to have the red flag, red flag means no swimming. And one of the reasons why is when the byproducts you often have with these kind of systems, of course, is you have the big rip currents, and that's going -- only going to intensify as the storm system gets a little bit closer. Although you don't see the signs of the rough weather here, take a look at this video we have from just yesterday. Looking around town, there are a lot of things that have begun to get boarded up. A lot of small mom and pop businesses, a lot of national chains, too, in terms of restaurants. Even super markets boarded up because they do indeed know what's coming. Long history of storms right through the outer banks.
In fact, in just 2003, Fredricka, another eye storm. We're talking about Isabel came through a few miles from our exact location that knocked down some 2,000 feet -- 2,000 feet of the island and actually kind of channeled, it was about 15 feet deep in places. Another thing to kind of think about is even if this ends up being a category 2 hurricane as it comes up here, the storm surge could be anywhere from seven, maybe as much as 12 feet. Well, there are parts of the island where you only have about seven, even 12 or 11 feet above sea level.
So, it could be a pretty interesting scenario to say the very least. With the Atlantic here, relatively warm, a lot of water coming on this side. On the back side way beyond our hotel on the other side of the outer banks, you've got a series of bodies of water. You have not only the Sound, you've got the -- part of the inner coastal waterway, a lot of estuaries, and of course water there could be driven up on the shore. So, kind of a one-two punch expected with this (INAUDIBLE) as the storm pulls to the north -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much. Reynolds Wolf there in Kill Devil Hills where it could be 8:00 p.m. Saturday evening when they're in the bulls eye. Let's move further north now where 12 hours after that, 8:00 a.m. Sunday, that would be Pleasant Point Beach. That's where we find our Jason Carroll. So, are people taking measures similar to in North Carolina? Boarding up, bracing for Irene?
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes and no. We have some evidence of folks taking their boats out of the water and also boarding up some windows. But if you look outside at the beach, you can see that some people are still not he heeding the warnings. Actually, there is a mandatory evacuation in effect here for tourists. At 3:00 they're going to decide if a mandatory evacuation will also go into effect for the residents. But right now, the concern is for the out-of-towners who keep coming out to enjoy those last minute of sun. And we've got some of them with us right now. I've got (INAUDIBLE) Dunlin and her family. All of these guys over here -- although, the two young girls belong to her, the boys are nephews. Now obviously, you're from out of town?
COLLEEN DUNLIN (ph), POINT PLEASANT BEACH, NEW JERSEY: Yes.
CARROLL: You know, they would prefer, emergency officials, that you are not here right now.
DUNLIN: I know.
CARROLL: So tell me, why are you here?
DUNLIN: Because I had to keep the kids busy and enjoy the rest of the sun for the weekend.
CARROLL: So, when -- so, when exactly are you planning to head out?
DUNLIN: Probably around 3:00, 2:00.
CARROLL: 3:00. And Fredricka, the point I want to bring in is emergency officials don't want everyone, people like Colleen, heading out at the same time, because obviously that would put a strain on the roadways. Is that something that you're concerned about?
DUNLIN: Yes.
CARROLL: What about the -- so I think a lot of people watching this would say, there's so many other ways to entertain the family rather than bringing them out to a place like where we are right now when a hurricane is on its way.
DUNLIN: Well I didn't go to the beach, I just stayed on the boardwalk.
CARROLL: Just stayed on the boardwalk.
DUNLIN: Yes, I didn't want to take chances with them in the water.
CARROLL: And kids, how do you feel about coming down here on a day like today?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's scary, actually. We've never really witnessed something like this, like a hurricane. Look at it, it's beautiful out right now. I mean --
CARROLL: Well, that's the calm before the storm.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it's pretty -- it's scary.
CARROLL: Girls, how about you, what are your thoughts?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not really worried, I just wanted to have fun on the boardwalk.
CARROLL: OK. Well obviously, I hope you had your fun, and I hope after this live shot, you will take the advice of the emergency officials and head out. You're going to do that, Colleen?
DUNLIN: Yes I am.
CARROLL: Very good. All right, so Colleen and her family are going to be heading out. Hopefully others will take the warnings that have been issued. You know, New Jersey's governor has basically said, you know, this is going to be a very dangerous storm, a storm that people have not seen here in a very, very long time, and he wants people to heed the warnings. Obviously, some people like Colleen feel like they can still come out to the beach and still enjoy the sun, but once again, Fredricka, you don't want everyone trying to leave at the same time and putting a strain on the transportation system.
WHITFIELD: Right. And New Jersey among those states preemptively declaring a state of emergency ahead of the storm. All right, thanks so much. Jason Carroll, from Point Pleasant, New Jersey, there and not far from where you are at Beach Atlantic City. Also, coming from Trump Entertainment, asking all its guests there at Atlantic City, New Jersey, to leave there at Trump Entertainment.
All right. Now, let's move a little further south there from New Jersey on to Maryland. Annapolis, very much a residential town, a college town. That's where we find our Athena Jones. What's happening there in beautiful Annapolis?
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well hi, Fredricka. Actually, the key word here is sandbags. We just got an update from the city officials who say they still expect to see a storm surge of about three feet. That's not much different from this morning when we heard two to three feet. But they could see 60 mile-per-hour winds on Saturday, and so you have these businesses around downtown Annapolis. These are businesses that would have been under several feet of water back in the last serious storms, Isabel, in 2003. It's a very low- lying flood-prone zone. We're talking about six to eight inches of water, of rain, between Saturday and Sunday.
And so, we have businesses coming out, residents coming out, piling sandbags after sandbags into their vehicles. Their open bed trucks, when the trucks come up every few minutes, maybe 20 minutes, every half hour or so, you'll see people waiting for the trucks, and rushing these sandbags, these flatbed trucks, grabbing sandbags, throwing them onto wheel barrels, running with them to their cars.
Some of the sandbags are breaking, they're very heavy. We're already beginning to see that some of these businesses piling up sandbags outside their doors. We've spoken to some people who said they learned their lesson last time. A woman whose house is back out on the Chesapeake Bay who said it was from in Isabel, she's not going to let it happen again. And another business guy here downtown who said last time he didn't stack his sandbags high enough, so this time he's going to get a whole more. So, no one wants to gamble -- Fredricka. WHITFIELD: All right. Various methods of preparation, people taking Irene very seriously. Athena Jones in Annapolis. Thanks so much.
So, how prepared is the Big Apple, New York City, for hurricane Irene? The storm could shut down subways, airports within the next 48 hours. We'll talk about preparations there, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. We're reporting on hurricane Irene throughout the hour, but there are a few other stories that we're following that we want to know about. There have been rumors and now we're getting our first look at them. A maze of secret tunnels underneath Tripoli, Libya. Moammar Gadhafi apparently built them as an escape route. Yesterday, a radio station aired a defiant message reportedly from Gadhafi. The Libya leader has not been seen in public in weeks now.
An Amtrak train plowed into a farm vehicle in southwestern Nebraska today. The train with the 178 people onboard derailed. At least three people were taken to a hospital. Their injuries are not thought to be life threatening. The train was heading to Chicago.
A ceremony to dedicate the new King Memorial in Washington, D.C. this weekend has been postponed because of hurricane Irene. The ceremony had been planned to coincide with the 48th anniversary of the March on Washington when the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have A Dream" speech. The King Memorial open to the public on Monday and includes a 30-foot granite sculpture of the civil rights leader. Organizers have not announced a new day for the dedication.
And we just looked at how Irene could devastate New York City. Up next, how the U.S. military is preparing for search and rescue operations for the entire coast. You don't want to go anywhere.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, we continue to bring you the latest on the breaking news of Hurricane Irene. And we're covering all the angles. CNN Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence joins us now for details on what the military, the U.S. military, is doing to prepare for the worst.
What's going on to get the search and rescue operations ready for the entire coast? What's happening?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred, the Pentagon has now designated about 18 helicopters that will be used by FEMA, and can be used by FEMA, for those search and rescue operations that are a likely possibility, you know, in the wake of a storm like this one. Some of those planes, the Pentagon says, will also be used for surveillance, to take a look at damaged areas, perhaps to look for people who are in distress and survivors in those areas.
FEMA has also been prepositioning a lot of supplies at several military bases in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and North Carolina. These include things like generators, supplies of water, food, tarps, baby supplies. Things that they will need to get out as quickly as possible. They've been storing those at some of the military bases in those three states.
The military has also been moving a lot of its assets out of the way of the storm so that they could then not only be protected, but also be brought back into bear if they're need. For example, the Air Force has moved a lot of its planes out to Ohio to get them out of the way.
The Navy now has about 38 ships out to sea. Now, this represents about 13 percent of the entire deployable battleships. So a sizeable portion of the U.S. Navy on the East Coast has now headed out to sea to get out of the way of this storm. What those ships are going to do is, they're going to try to let the storm pass between them and the East Coast of the United States, and then they're going to come back around and sort of follow the storm back around so that they would be in position, if needed, to use some of their assets to help people along the coast.
Fred.
WHITFIELD: So, I wonder, Chris, are they going to be relocating any of the personnel? You talk about all the apparatus. You talk about, you know, the real ship assets, et cetera, but what about personnel?
LAWRENCE: Well, right now a lot of the bases have gone to, you know, what they call, you know, destructive weather condition three, which means a destructive weather event is imminent. They've been really locking down some of the bases and trying to secure a lot of the equipment. A lot of the National Guard troops in several states have been put on alert. By one estimate, there could be as many as 100,000 potential National Guard troops available to all of these governors along the eastern seaboard.
So, in a lot of ways, what the military is doing is just sort of getting the assets in place, and then you sort of just have to let this storm come through and then figure out where these assets can best be used.
WHITFIELD: All right, Chris Lawrence, thanks so much, from the Pentagon.
And stay with us throughout the 2:00 p.m. Eastern hour where we'll break down how to prepare a survival kit of your own so that you all are safe should disaster strike.
All right, Wall Street was hanging on Ben Bernanke's ever word today. Did he say what investors were hoping to hear? Poppy Harlow will join us to break down what he said and how it just might impact you, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: East Coast cities, including the nation's capital, bracing for Hurricane Irene. Let's listen in to D.C. mayor, Vincent Gray.
MAYOR VINCENT GRAY, WASHINGTON D.C.: Secretary Napolitano has been in touch with us and we want to express our appreciation to the president for his support in this impending weather event.
First of all, we had an briefing from the weather service, an extensive briefing. And as best we understand it now, we can expect activity around the hurricane to really begin early Saturday afternoon and it would run into Saturday -- Sunday, excuse me, Sunday afternoon. So roughly a period of 24 hours during which we would experience the conditions of a hurricane.
There could be some flooding. We don't know the extent of that at this stage. Our Department of Public Works, for the last 24 hours, has been making sandbags available to people who would like to have them, to address their concerns about the possibility of flooding.
We understand the rainfall could be two to four inches. That apparently -- this won't come fully into the District of Columbia. Rainfall could go higher, of course. That is still an unfolding situation.
We should expect tropical winds that would be diminishing early Sunday. Perhaps winds up to about 50 miles per hour on Sunday. And, again, maybe some flooding into Sunday.
We had quite an extensive discussion here today. The entire cabinet was here. The National Guard was here with us. FEMA was here with us. WMATA, as well as our other federal partners, our utility partners, and members of the private sector.
The National Guard will be at the ready in the event that we need to deploy them. General Schwarz (ph) was here with us this afternoon and we worked with them to try to prepare the way for that, as well as FEMA. We have Pepco and WMATA here with us. And I think I'm going to call upon them to speak shortly.
With respect to services in the city tomorrow, many of our services that normally would be open on Saturday will be closed, except for the libraries. The libraries will be open tomorrow. They normally close around 5:00 or 5:30, 6:00 on Saturday. Whatever their normal closing hours are will be observed on Saturday. And in addition to that, the DMV will be open tomorrow if that DMV center happens to normally be open, as well on Saturday, they will be open, I think, until about 5:30.
We also -- for people who are homeless, normally they would be out of the shelters at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. All the shelters will be open for the entire day tomorrow and into Sunday through the duration of this hurricane so that people can have shelter available to them should they choose to. And we're also setting aside -- these will be run by DHS also -- we're setting aside four Department of Parks and Recreation Facilities for residents who may find themselves needing to vacate their own homes. That will be Emory (ph) Shelter, which I think is in the 5800 block of Georgia Avenue northwest, Turkey Thicket (ph), which is on 10th Street northeast, the Southeast Tennyson Learning Center, which is on Mississippi Avenue, and Binning Stoddard (ph), which is right around the 4,000 block of East Capitol Street, northeast southeast, right on the line. And the National Guard is making available to us the armory as well in the event that we have extensive sheltering needs.
I'm going to ask Millison West (ph) if she will come up shortly to share with the public a number of tips that we believe would be germane to people being able to get through this.
We also are extending our own communications efforts. Beginning at 7:00 tomorrow morning, Channel 16, which is our -- one of our PEG (ph) channels, will be on 24/7. It will be on live starting at 7:00 a.m., and through the duration of the hurricane, providing information to people in the District of Columbia.
Also, we want to encourage people -- there are lots of phone numbers that we could give out, but we want to encourage people to use 311, because 311 can connect people with anyone of the utilities, anyone of our agencies, and it makes it a lot easier for people. They will be fully staffed here through the duration of the hurricane. All staff who work in the center will be here. Jennifer Green (ph), who is our new director, will be available to be responsible for all of that.
Also, the MPD would have been fully staffed this weekend anyway because of the Martin Luther King Memorial events. They will remain in the same state of readiness because of the hurricane.
Again, I am sure everybody is aware that the dedication ceremony on Sunday has been canceled. It will be rescheduled for a later date, maybe in a couple of months. We really don't have information on that at this stage.
Also, the gala that was scheduled for Saturday night has been canceled as well. I think the National Action Network march which was being scheduled by -- by Reverend Al Sharpton has been canceled. And I think many of you know we were planning a full democracy rally and march tomorrow,. That has been canceled tomorrow as well and will be reschedule for a later point.
With that having been said, I'm going to ask Pepco -- because I know there will be questions with respect to Pepco, I'm going to ask the representative from Pepco to come and speak to you about their preparation with this. They have brought in a number of additional crews, increased their capacity tremendously.
And we will ask the representative to speak to that. In addition to that, WMATA is here as well. I'm going to ask the WMATA representative to speak to their preparation for this weather event.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
As was just said, we have been preparing for this storm for several days now. We actually starting bringing 150 additional crews --
WHITFIELD: All right, you have been listening to the measures that the District of Columbia is taking in anticipation of this Category 2 Hurricane Irene.
Now we want to go take you up to Massachusetts, where Governor Deval Patrick is speaking.
Let's listen in.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
GOV. DEVAL PATRICK (D), MASSACHUSETTS: We are expecting Logan Airport to remain open, but there will undoubtedly be disruptions in service in terms of delays or cancellations.
As we all know, Mother Nature is unpredictable. And the forecast may change for the better or the worse. We will continue to monitor the storm and we will communicate updates as we get them as we go forward.
People can check Mass.gov for storm updates, 911 of course for all emergencies. And you can dial 211, 211 for public information regarding resources and services statewide.
There are over 30 different agencies coordinating here at the MEMA in preparation for this storm and in response to it over the course of the weekend. There are federal and state agencies. And as I say, we're coordinating very closely with local responders as well.
I want to thank all of them represented by many of the people here. I want to thank the members of the Cabinet for their activation of their teams as well. And I expect that everyone is going to continue to work closely and well and in a highly coordinated fashion as we deal with this latest challenge.
I'm going to turn it over now to Kurt Schwartz with my thanks, and I will look forward to taking any questions you may have after he makes his presentation. Thank you.
Kurt.
KURT SCHWARTZ, DIRECTOR, MASSACHUSETTS EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY: Thank you, Governor.
Thank you.
WHITFIELD: All right, you are listening to the updates from the various major cities along the East Coast. Massachusetts bracing for this hurricane. You are hearing from the governor there say Logan Airport not likely to close down, but flights will certainly be disrupted.
And then you heard from D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray also underscore that there may be potential for flooding, as well as a number of the services that the city offers will be closed, except all shelters will remain open, especially for the homeless.
We're going to continue to watch the developments and the preparations along the entire East Coast.
Also coming up, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg will be talking about preparations for Manhattan -- right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Cities all along the East Coast bracing for Hurricane Irene. We're awaiting a press conference coming from New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg. When that happens, we will take that live.
Meantime, Wall Street has been anxiously awaiting not the storm, but Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's big speech today. And while he pledged to help the economy all he could, he put the onus on Congress to get its act together.
Poppy Harlow joins me now from New York.
So, Poppy, what did Bernanke have to say specifically?
POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You are exactly right.
The headline from his speech in Jackson Hole, the central bankers, was his message was directly to Congress. Very interesting. This comes after the S&P downgrade of the U.S., where Standard & Poor's told Washington to really get its act together. You have heard more CEOs calling for the same thing.
What Bernanke said is that I, as the head of the Federal Reserve, will do all I can to prop up this economy, but our tools are limited. Monetary policy is limited in its effectiveness of healing the economy at this point in time.
I want to show you the statement, Fredricka, just to show you the strong words that the Fed chairman used. He said: "Most of the economic policies that support robust economic growth in the long run are outside the province of the Central Bank."
So, it's not all up to the central bankers.
He went to say, "Without significant policy changes, the finances of the federal government will inevitably spiral out of control, risking severe economic and financial damage."
Spiral out of control. This man chooses every single word he says or writes very carefully. These are very severe words. And what he is saying to Congress is, we need you to figure out a better plan to deal with this country's debt, a long-term that puts this country on a trajectory that gets it back to a healthy state.
The upbeat comments that he did say is that although we have had such a rough few years from the financial crisis, our economy is not permanently altered or permanently scarred. What he is saying is that if Washington changes the way that it deals with our debt and our deficits, and if the Fed is able to implement monetary policy tools that are going to work, then we will get on solid ground again.
But he is saying here really for the first time, we cannot do it alone as the Fed. Washington, we need your help. And that's certainly the headline from this speech.
WHITFIELD: All right, Poppy Harlow, thanks so much for that update.
All right, meantime, it's about 37 minutes after the hour. Let's take a look at the headlines and other news that you might have missed.
We are closely tracking Hurricane Irene as it moves along the East Coast. This is the projected path. Take a look. The powerful storm is brewing just parallel to the South Carolina coast right now. Irene is expected to make landfall in North Carolina by tomorrow morning.
And here is the satellite image of this monster of a storm churning in the Atlantic. Tens of millions of people could be affected by its destructive fury. Irene's outer bands have already started stirring up high waves and drenching parts of the Carolinas with a lot of rain already. Communities along much of the coast are bracing for a direct hit.
And several states, including Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Connecticut and North Carolina, have all declared states of emergency. A number of counties in North Carolina are already under mandatory evacuation orders. A caravan of school buses left one coastal county this morning carrying evacuees to shelters far inland as Raleigh.
And Maryland residents are leaving low-lying areas there ahead of what the governor there called a very dangerous and potentially deadly hurricane. Residents were warned that if they ignore the evacuation orders, police officers may forcibly remove them.
And the U.S. military is also preparing. Dozens of U.S. Navy ships are being ordered out to sea, and military aircraft are also being relocated ahead of Irene.
And as preparations continue all up and down the East Coast, FEMA has been deploying teams along the coast and it's warning of power outages that could last a week or maybe even more, especially in the big cities.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The one thing we can change the outcome on is loss of life. That's why the evacuation orders that are being issued in the coastal areas are key. People need to leave early, travel a safe distance, get somewhere safe, not wait for another forecast.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And it is sure to offer some serious gridlock, and Manhattan Metro Transit Authority -- this information just in -- in New York City, and the entire area having a system-wide shutdown starting at 12:00 noon on Saturday.
So, we're also hearing from numerous city, county and state leaders. Even President Barack Obama, who is wrapping up his vacation at Martha's Vineyard a day early, delivered this urgent message just a couple hours ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: All indications point to this being a historic hurricane, although we can't predict with perfect certainty the impact of Irene over the next few days. And the federal government has spent the better part of last week working closely with officials in communities that could be affected by this storm to see to it that we are prepared. So now is the time for residents of these communities, in the hours that remain, to do the same.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right, so just how prepared is the entire East Coast in case of disaster? The answer from the latest CNN and Opinion Research Corporation poll is a little unsettling, actually.
Roughly half of those interviewed say they have made some preparations for an emergency like a Hurricane Irene, but you can see right here the regions that are least prepared are the urban areas in the Northeast, which are still in Irene's direct path. Only 36 percent of Northeasterners say they have emergency supplies.
Those figures are highest in the south and west, where hurricanes and earthquakes are more frequent. Also, people who live in rural areas than those of us who live in the big cities -- 42 percent of city dwellers vs. 51 percent of rural residents.
So, bracing for Hurricane Irene, evacuations all along the North Carolina coast, and air and ground travel disrupted on the busy Eastern Corridor. We will have live reports coming up next.
And we are awaiting New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Again, this just in. Metro Transit Authority in the New York City area having a system-wide shutdown starting 12:00, noontime, tomorrow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, we continue to watch Category now 2 Hurricane Irene. It could be setting its sights on the North Carolina coast.
That's in fact where we find our John Zarrella. He is in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina.
You have a tendency of finding all the best beaches, John. JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I --
(AUDIO GAP)
WHITFIELD: Except right now. That signal is an indicator the winds are already kicking up there along the North Carolina coast. People continue to heed the warnings of the mandatory evacuations that all along the North Carolina coast. Typically, what is first hit is the Atlantic Beach area, Kill Devil Hills, that entire Nagshead area.
So it looks like we have a better signal of you now, so, John, give me an idea of what you are experiencing there? Sounds windy.
ZARRELLA: Well, we're getting -- yes, we got the first squall that just came through a few minutes ago, and the winds are kicking up, as you mentioned.
This is Atlantic Beach, and it's really one of the rare beaches, because this is actually south. So the storm is coming right up at us from the south. And to the east, out this way to the east is, you know -- and a little bit to the north, it would be the Outer Banks. The storm could come up and should come up by us here, or right over us. That's part of the issue that we face here.
You can see what they have done here, Fredricka. They put up the 2-by-4s, these barriers in order to keep the water -- we're at sea level. And you can see, it's probably 150 yards to the beach, but all the wave action could very well traverse 150 yards, come here and overwash this entire area.
Now, people have taken precautions. Turn around here, we can see they have sandbagged down here, they have got the shutters, the plywood shutters put up. They did not do the doors because they say this is double paned and they are not too concerned about that.
Now just a few minutes ago, before we went on the air, we heard from the police going up and down with bullhorns telling people, mandatory evacuation, they want you out of here by 8:00 tonight. That's when they're going to start to shut the bridge down that leads over to the island here, and they're telling people get out, now is the time to get out, we don't want you here longer. They are not going to tolerate people on the street or vehicles moving.
So again, Fredricka, we're beginning to feel those first affects from those outer bands of the storm. You can see up here some of the clouds, and you see the thunderstorms and the cloud bands starting to rotate around us here, as the storm approaches getting closer and closer to us all the time.
We expect tropical storm force winds certainly by tonight and hurricane force winds by tomorrow -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, John Zarrella, thanks so much, we'll keep checking in with you as long as we have a signal. Thanks so much.
All right Ernie Seneca is with the North Carolina Emergency Management, he's on the phone with me now.
Mr. Seneca, give me an idea right now. Everyone is heading these mandatory evacuations, so far so good?
ERNIE SENECA, NORTH CAROLINA EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT (via telephone): It is. We're well prepared. We have a major storm heading our way. The first affects are just happening. The Outer Banks are beginning to touch the southern part of the state, and we think we are going to have a pretty significant hit here.
WHITFIELD: And what are your greatest concerns?
SENECA: The storm surge, to what degree that will come in. Flooding, high winds. We're projecting to get hurricane-force winds potentially all along the coast tomorrow. You know, again, rising waters. So those are serious concerns.
WHITFIELD: Are there any particular coastal cities that you are most worried about, the people who per usual are kind of die hard, they want to ride out the storm, they don't want to leave their properties? How concerned are you about those areas that typically see this?
SENECA: Well, we are concerned about the entire Eastern half of the state, basically. This hurricane could potentially impact an area that imposes 20 counties and more than 3.5 million people. We have the evacuation orders in place for t counties so far, and it's a combination of mandatory and involuntary evacuations.
We're at the height of tourist season, and many, many of those folks have gotten off the islands and the Outer Banks and left. But this is a serious situation and we want people to take it seriously, too.
WHITFIELD: Serious indeed. Thank you so much, Ernie Seneca of the North Carolina Emergency Management.
And, of course, we continue to watch the entire East Coast and various preparedness being displayed by various cities.
We're also awaiting a press conference from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. As soon as that happens we'll bring that to you live.
And also, continued concerns overseas in Libya. Where is Moammar Gadhafi? And here is some evidence just how paranoid Moammar Gadhafi may have been. Wait till you see the pictures of a vast underground city. A live report next.
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WHITFIELD: The nation's most populous city also bracing for Hurricane Irene.
Let's listen to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
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