Hurricane Irene Continues on her Path of Destruction, 6 Confirmed Dead, Heads Toward DE, NJ & NY (Update: 25 Confirmed Dead)

Although Hurricane Irene is not a cat 2, 3 or 4, that does not mean that people do not need to heed warnings of officials and stay safe. So far there have been four confirmed deaths at the hand of Irene, three dead in North Carolina and one in Virgina. Sadly, an 11 year old boy in Newport News, VA was killed when a tree fell on his home in an apartment complex. [Update, six confirmed dead].

Three people were confirmed dead in North Carolina: one who died in a vehicle crash in Pitt County, a man who died after a branch fell on him in Nash County, and a man who died of a heart attack Thursday in Onslow County as he was trying to board up his home.

Another man as missing after after he either jumped or fell into the Cape Fear River in New Hanover, authorities told NBC station WECT-TV of Wilmington.

In Newport News, Va., high winds Saturday afternoon knocked a tree into an apartment complex, killing an 11-year-old boy. Neighbors said a woman came out of the home screaming, “Where’s my baby?!”

As Hurricane Irene heads toward New jersey and New York, NYC closes down the transit system.  The only bright side of this is that the hurricane hit on the weekend.

New York City transit began closing at noon Saturday, its first shutdown brought on by natural disaster.

Many bridges and streets were nearly empty across the city, where warnings about approaching Hurricane Irene resonated as the city’s major utility weighed whether to cut power to parts of lower Manhattan.

You can track the storm at WECT.

UPDATE I: There seem to be some differing stories as to the number of deceased at the hands of Hurricane Irene.  The LA Times says that 10 are dead; however, Virginia’s Pilot On Line is reporting 14 deaths in 5 states.

UPDATE II: Just a rebuttal to the LEFT-WINGERS at Think Progress and their, Right Wing Tries New Tactic To Soften Bush’s Katrina Debacle: Say Obama’s Leadership On Irene Is Just For Show.  Hardly, this has nothing to do with GWB’s handling Katrina, it has to do with an out of touch President in Obama acting like he could not be bothered. We already have seen how lame Obama is in handling disasters with what he did with the Gulf Oil spill. Even uber-Dem James Carville railed on Obama for his handling of the spill.

UPDATE III: There are now 25 confirmed deaths from Hurricane Irene.

Please stay safe, Brian in a Blue State