tagged w/ Eastern Seabord
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CNN...
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Irene's flooding 'could be a hundred-year event'
By the CNN Wire Staff
August 25, 2011 4:38 p.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Bahamas reports damage but expects tourists to return quickly
King memorial dedication still on schedule in Washington
States of emergency in New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia,parts of North Carolina
Ocean City, Maryland, will begin a mandatory evacuation at midnight
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Editor's Note: Check out "Open Story: Hurricane Irene," a collaborative effort of CNN and iReport contributors who are documenting the storm as it moves across the Atlantic Ocean. Read more about Hurricane Irene from CNN affiliate WBOC.
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PART ONE...
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Miami (CNN) -- Five governors declared states of emergency Thursday as Hurricane Irene threatened to wreak havoc along the United States' Eastern Seaboard.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley declared emergencies for their states, while North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue declared a state of emergency in counties east of Interstate 95. The emergency declarations allow states to free funds and prepare resources that may be needed.
If Irene continues along its current track, "from a flooding perspective, this could be a hundred-year event," Christie said. He encouraged voluntary evacuations to begin immediately. "Anybody who is on a barrier island should go," he said.
Christie said it was too soon to know whether there will be mandatory evacuations.
Hurricane Irene batters Bahamas
In parts of North Carolina, mandatory evacuations were under way Thursday.
The military moved more than two dozen ships out to sea ahead of the storm.
As of 2 p.m. ET, the Category 3 storm was pounding the Bahamas, with its eye over Abaco Island, the National Hurricane Center said.
Cat, San Salvador and Long islands "took direct hits," said Gayle Outten-Moncur of the National Emergency Management Agency. "There has been bad flooding in some areas."
By Thursday afternoon, no deaths or injuries had been reported in the island chain. Officials reported widespread power outages, impassable roads, downed trees and flooding in some spots. Still, they expected tourists to return by the weekend.
Maximum sustained winds were at 115 mph as the storm worked its way northwest.
"I didn't really want to take my chances," said Janeen Wall, who left her vacation spot in Carolina Beach, North Carolina, to make it back to Richmond, Virginia. "Also, if I waited for an evacuation order, I would have to share the road with more than a few thousand other folks trying to leave at the same time."
A mandatory evacuation order was in effect for residents and visitors in Hyde County, North Carolina, which includes Ocracoke Island, reachable only by boat or private plane, on the Outer Banks.
Ocracoke resident Farris O'Neal, 40, told CNN that for the first time he may head for the mainland instead of sticking out the storm. "It's different this time," he said. Since the last big storm, he has gotten married and had two children. "My wife is sick, and so's the baby."
Nearby Dare County, which includes Manteo, Nags Head, Duck and historic Kitty Hawk, had an evacuation order for tourists only.
Carteret County also issued a mandatory evacuation order for visitors in part of the county. On Friday, there will be a mandatory evacuation for all residents of Bogue Banks, said county spokesman Rodney Cates.
Ocean City, Maryland, Mayor Richard Meeham announced a mandatory evacuation beginning at midnight, CNN affiliate WUSA reported.
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CONTINUED...
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Irene's flooding 'could be a hundred-year event'
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