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

Hurricane Irene About to Make Landfall Heading Toward North Carolina

Everyone please take precautions and be safe, Hurricane Irene is about to make landfall and is predicted to affect the areas of the Mid-Atlantic to New England.  Irene is reported at being 420 miles south-southwest of Cape Hatteras, NC and has winds near 110 miles per hour, and was moving to the north at 14 miles per hour. When it finally hits land on Saturday, Irene is supposed to be a category 2 or 3 hurricane.

Pic: The Weather Channel

- Hurricane Irene poses an extraordinary threat and is one that no one has yet experienced from North Carolina to the mid_Atlantic to the Northeast to New England.

- Hurricane Irene is a high end category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale; however, Irene is expected to re-strengthen into a category 3 storm.

From ABC News, Hurricane Irene is predicted to cause billions in damages.

“This is going to have an impact on the United States economy,” Mayfield added.

The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 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.”

Follow the path and get emergency advisories at NOLA … HERE, HERE and HERE (radar).

PLEASE BE SAFE!

Brian in a Blue State

5.8 Magnitude Earthquake Rocks Washington, DC, President Barack Obama Playing Golf at the Time at Martha’s Vineyard (Update: 5.9 Earthquake)

A 5.8, Reuters is reporting a 6.2 magnitude earthquake, has rocked Washington, DC and the East Coast.  According to ABC News, the earthquake centered northwest of Richmond, VA, shook much of Washington, DC, and was felt as far north as Rhode Island and New York City. The epicenter of the earthquake is being reported to have been in Mineral, VA.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake was 3.7 miles deep. Shaking was felt at the White House and all over the East Coast, as far south as Chapel Hill, N.C. Parts of the Pentagon, White House and Capitol were evacuated. The quake was in Mineral, Va., in Louisa County

You are never going to guess what the President was doing when the earthquake hit … PLAYING GOLF OF COURSE.

UPDATE I: FOX News reporting that JFK International Airport has been shut down. Federal buildings in DC, Pentagon and Capitol have been evacuated. Obviously, there is a fear of aftershocks so authorities are not going to want people to go back into buildings or underground transit.

The Pentagon has been evacuated, CNN’s Barbara Starr reports. “When the building began shaking rather violently, hundreds of people began streaming out,” she said, because many people thought that the building was under attack. Starr was standing in the Pentagon’s press office when the roof started to shake.

UPDATE II: Being reported that the quake was felt from New Hampshire to Atlanta.  Its now being called a 5.9 magnitude quake according to the USGS.

UPDATE III: Two nuclear power plants taken offline following quake. No reports of damage to the reactors, most likely a precautionary measure.

A nuclear power plant located in Louisa County, the epicenter of the earthquake in Virginia, has shut down.

The North Anna Power Station, operated by Dominion Power, has two reactors.  The plant declared an “unusual event” in the wake of the 5.9 magnitude quake, which is the lowest stage on the plant’s emergency scale.

UPDATE IV: Reagan National in Washington, DC is closed, flights are on hold.

I would say, if you do not need to be on your cell phones in the affected areas, please don’t. It would appear that there has been not that much structural damage and no reported deaths or serious injuries. Thank God, great news.

Brian in a Blue State

Barack Obama Attends Joplin, MO Memorial Service & Chews Gum in the Front Row

Lost in Smallness, the bubble gum Edition.

Is it not bad enough that President Barack Obama waited one week before he came to Joplin, Missouri … but when Obama finally decides to make an appearance he attends the Memorial Service and chews gum while sitting in the front row.

Could you be any more disrespectful and classless Mr. President? As the Gateway Pundit states, maybe Obama leaned such manners at Reverend Wright’s Trinity Church. After all its not like Obama regularly attends church, so how would he know exactly how to behave.

Mr. President, at last count hundreds have died and  39 people  are still missing in Joplin, MO. Do you think that while attending a memorial service you could actually not chew gum? GEEZ. Seriously, how Presidential Barack. Or was it Nicorette?

Will Norton Graduated from HS in Joplin, MO but Never Made it Home … Missing in Joplin along with 1500, Death Toll Rises

Death toll continues to rise in Joplin, MO …

Will Norton has been missing since last Sunday … when he was on his way home after graduation in Joplin, Missouri when the devastating tornadoes hit. It was previously reported that Will Norton was sucked out of his vehicle through the sun roof, snapping his seat belt. He had not been seen since.

Sadly, the family of Will Norton has announced that they have received confirmation that he is dead.

It said Friday that the original list of 232 missing or unaccounted for residents had dropped to 156 by Friday, and planned to give an updated total later in the day.

Missouri Department of Public Safety deputy director Andrea Spillars said Friday that at least 90 people on the initial list had been located alive.

But at least six others were identified as among the dead, and some new names had been added to the scroll of the missing. Authorities had cautioned for days that while they believed many on the list were alive and safe, others likely had been killed.