literally, every minute. they say pay attention, be cautious and take this hurricane irene seriously. grave warnings are coming from the white house and homeland security chief as the east coast is bracing for this storm. this is live pictures. wrightsville beach, in north carolina. one of the danger zone and the first to feel this hurricane on u.s. soil. irene is on track to come ashore around north carolina's outer banks either late tonight or tomorrow morning. chad will zero in on that in a second. dozens of states could be inundated with high winds, heavy rain and storm surge. hurricane warnings in effect from north carolina to new york city. irene expected to target the northeast by sunday. that's where the major population centers are at risk. in fact, new york's mayor, michael bloomberg, issuing the first ever mandatory evacuation order. >> also adding a full evacuation of all people living in private homes or apartments in the

rockaways. in addition, you should know that mta service, including subways, buses and railroads will begin to shut down tomorrow at noon. we'll discuss that and other measures in a moment depending on the effect of the storm, let me caution you in regards to the mta that service may or may not be restored in time for rush hour monday morning. i would urge employees checking with their employers regarding business openings on monday. >> cnn's reporters are showing us some of the stormy surf in florida. video shot by sheterly, don off new smyrna beach. amazing how rough the ocean is there. janet napolitano telling people not to mess around with this storm. she briefed president obama by phone earlier today and the president is going to leave marthas vineyard a short and return -- day short and return from his vacation. he's urging americans to prepare for the worst.

>> i cannot stress this highly enough. if you are in the projected path of this hurricane, you have to take precautions now. don't wait. don't delay. we all hope for the best, but we have to be prepared for the worst. >> solet start at the cnn hurricane center. meteorologist chad myers tracking irene, the latest information, movements, timing. chad, timing is everything at this point as we get closer and closer. >> sure it is. i think that's what we're doing. when i heard the president speak saying prepare for the worst but hope for the best, i think that's what we're doing. we're trying to prepare you for worst case scenario and hope that that doesn't happen in your town. someone is going to get worst case scenario, whether it's new york city, long island, connecticut, rhode island or massachusetts, somebody gets the brunt of this storm. it's still too early to tell because we're still about 48 hours away. here we go. when does it get to the first, i

guess, landfall? we're 245 miles away from atlantic beach, north carolina. that's the most likely place for this to go. i would say by the time we get up here, the air is ocracoke, all the way over to jensen. maybe. because we're so close now, because we're only 15 hours away from landfall there, the error in that cone is not big. this is pretty much a certainty. that's 6:00 a.m. tomorrow morning when the eye gets there. everyone focuses on the eye. hey, look at this. look at what's between the eye and the island. look at the beach. we have all of these weather cells, all of these outer bands that will come first. one band, another band, another band and finally an outer eyewall and maybe an inner one right there. just because the eyewall gets there in 16 hours, the weather is going to go downhill from here dramatically for the next eight to ten hours and then be

really bad and then it gets better after tomorrow probably around afternoon. i know everybody focuses on the middle. there's going to be a lot of flooding too. don't get caught trying to drive over something too deep. >> let me tell you something. taking precautions is key. but tomorrow, the next day, the next day, we'll talk about knuckle brains. you've got in trouble. i want to show you video, chad of what i would consider to be knuckle brains. it comes from florida. apparently, we're going to show that later. >> that's a deep tease. >> people got hurt on a pier. deliberately putting themselves in front of a wave and didn't work out so well. evacuations are in full swing along the barrier island, the outer banks in the middle of this danger zone. david mattingly is there. he's in kill devil hills. bring us up to speed on that you're seeing. according to our radar and satellite, the first bands are approaching you, david? >> reporter: that's right, drew. it's been gradual. the wind is picking up a little

bit every hour. the surf pounding a little bit harder every hour. ominous clouds now starting to roll in from the south. and right now officials are telling everyone who is still here that this is the time to leave. put out a mandatory evacuation order for all the visitors yesterday. today all the full-time residents have been getting their mandatory evacuation order. that means that if they stay behind, there's not going to be anyone who will be able to help them if they need it. they're warning everyone that if you stay behind, you could be on your own after this storm hits for at least 72 hours with no electricity, with flooded roads, with nowhere to go and no one to help you. they're making sure everyone gets that message. so far they think that the evacuations seem to be going well. you'll see a handful of people out here on the beach. but it's virtually empty today compared to what it usually is. that's what they had hoped to see. when this storm comes in, all eyes are going to be on the dunes. when we have the storm surge, that powerful surf from the

atlantic will rise up and actually punch through the dunes in multiple locations throughout the outer banks. what they're going to do then is it's going to flood the roads on the -- and the property on the other side. they also have a problem with something called a reverse storm surge where the water on the west side of the islands actually gets pulled on shore by the storm as it moves its way up north. i've seen this happen before. it can completely flood streets and property and it can be just as dangerous as the storm surge coming from the atlantic. the people who have lived here a long time, i've talked to some of them today. they are boarding up their homes. they are preparing for the worst. over the years, they've come to learn that you have to respect these storms and one resident tells me that he will be moving to a safer part of the island. he's going to leave his beach house behind and he's going to be hoping for the best. listen. >> it's not that i take it lightly. i mean, hurricanes are very

dangerous situation. people need to be prepared. i mean, when i hear someone say a hurricane. i think i want to stay down for it, kind of excited. that tells me they've never been in a hurricane. you know, hurricanes are up to about 90 miles an hour. it's still a little bit after 0 it's scary. you start saying, why did i stay here? it's unnerving, the sound of the wind just is like a siren going through the wires. i mean, it gets pretty nervous, pretty scary. >> now, very unnerving scenario, drew. we're probably going to see that about sometime starting around noon tomorrow. we could see hurricane-force winds up and down the outer banks, possibly 10, 11, 12 hours of very long and difficult storm for these islands to weather. we're taking a look at that surf right now. the virtual trademark of the outer banks here. so many people come out here, pay a lot of money, spend a lot of time to look at it. that surf is going to become

very dangerous in the next 24 hours. >> david, thanks. let's go right down the coast where we find john zarrella in north carolina's atlantic beach. they have evacuation orders there as well. >> absolutely, drew. the tackle box tavern behind me, they have the boards ready and they've got the sandbags ready. they're going to start boarding up just as soon as 8:00 rolls around. mandatory evacuations time. the police have said, look, they came around with the bull horns and they said, you got to get out. we're not going to allow people on the street. no vehicles on the street. this too is an island. already boarded up. they're ready for the storm as well. they haven't boarded up the -- they're double paned glass with the plywood on it. interesting here. the ocean, the beach is actually south-facing. the storm, if it comes straight up at us is and is a little to

the right of us, the left side to the eyewall. pretty close to the center of the storm. just talked to some folks a little while ago from allstate insurance who they're doing something differently this year. they're going around to the customers as many as they can in advance of the storm and they're telling them, make sure you've got all of your insurance documentation in a safe place. keep it with you if you can. in case you have to evacuate. certainly in case you have a claim afterwards. good advice for folks up and down the east coast here. get pictures taken or video of the outside of your house, all of your personal belongings on the inside of your house. take those with you as well so you can document exactly what you've got in your house for those claims should you have to make them. so, again, mandatory curfew here after 8:00. they're telling people off the streets tonight. and they're not going to lift that curfew until they know it's safe. there's a bridge here going to morehead city. that's about the only way on and off this barrier island.

we've had some squalls, heavier than this during the day. not much wind yet to speak of. but we know it's coming. it's coming right from the south straight up here right for us. we're going to be one of the first along with david mattingly on the outer banks to really feel the effects of hurricane irene as it makes its approach and heads up the u.s. eastern seaboard. drew? >> john, with that curfew at 8:00, it's put up or shut up time now as far as evacuating. because you won't be able to do that after 8:00 it sounds like. >> reporter: yeah. you know, drew, it's interesting because as many people as we've talked to say they're leaving, there are just as many people here who are saying, no, we're not leaving. we're staying. we're going to stay and we're going to ride it out. we've been through these things before. a lot of folks told us, listen, this could be the worst storm that they've seen here since the 1950s, which was hurricane hazel. that's a long time ago. lot of people probably weren't born in 1950s who are here now who are saying they're going to

ride it out. they may not know what to expect and they have no idea what they're going to experience. it could be pretty rough going for the next 24 hours around here. drew? >> we'll find out soon enough. thanks, john. the red cross, of course, is ready to respond. we talked to kate meyer with the american red cross yesterday. she's in kill devil hills, north carolina. kate, yesterday i think you told us it was about 50/50 between the people staying and going. did you see more people leaving today? >> caller: we did see a few more people packing up and going. i will say it's turning into a bit of a ghost town. a few spectators on the beach. other than that, houses are boarded up and streets are pretty much empty. >> the american red cross, will it ride out the storm where you are in place or are they positioning outside to come in after this passes in. >> caller: we have hundreds of volunteers, lots of resources. they're already in place on the outer areas of the outer banks and along the eastern seaboard.

my colleague and i are on the outer banks now. but we're getting ready to evacuate. it's the safe thing to do, the right thing to do. we're headed out. >> what will shelters, if people are leaving and no place to go, no motel or friend anywhere, are there shelters open now? >> caller: in north carolina, alone, we have five shelters open. we've got about 175 people in the shelters now. we have an additional 70 shelters on stand by ready to open and we think we'll open at least half of those today. >> we are seeing live pictures of the surf right now. looks pretty eerie and stormy. that's only going to get worse. kate, thanks so much. we'll continue to check in with you as this afternoon goes on. i'm sure as this weekend goes on. meanwhile, you know it's going to be all about new york. it hasn't seen a big hurricane in more than 70 years. that is about to change. in fact, irene could smack into the big apple. we're learning about new evacuations just ordered for new york city and the surrounding

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the window for preparation is quickly closing. so if you are in the projected path of this storm, please listen to your state or local officials. please listen to emergency radio or television. if you are told to evacuate,

please do so. >> the northeast bracing for irene as this giant hurricane is churning its way up the east coast. new york mayor bloomberg announced the first mandatory evacuations in the city's history saying new yorkers need to get going and soon. >> we are today issuing a mandatory, repeat the word mandatory, evacuation order for all new yorkers who live in the low-lining zone a coastal areas in all fiveboros at greatest risk of damage reemted to irene. we're adding to that the rest of the rockaways zoned as zone b. >> take a look at this map. maps like this posted all over new york now. the maps shows the areas most in danger of flooding. people in the zone a areas must evacuate says the mayor, as well as everyone in the rockaways. the red cots indicate evacuation

centers. those centers hope in a few minutes. mayor bloomberg said all metro trains will stop in new york city at noon. amtrak warning of service disruptions up and down the east coast through this weekend n new jersey, an exodus is under way. tens of thousands getting away from the jersey shore. the approaching storm scared atlantic city casinos into shutting down. massachusetts governor issued state of emergency. utilities are putting together quick response teams, if, i think more likely when the power lines go down. we just heard mayor michael bloomberg announce mandatory evacuations. susan candiotti is at smith point county park. susan, you are -- where you are, are people being told to evacuate there? >> reporter: they will be. it's a beautiful day to be out here on the beach on fire

island, which is a 30-mile long barrier island on long island south shore. people are out here at the beach. but things are starting to get serious. as of this hour, there are mandatory beach-side community evacuations being ordered for anyone living on this barrier island. starting tomorrow morning, about 8:00, officials tell me they're going to call for a mandatory evacuation for people living on the mainland side of this barrier island. so joining me now to talk about that, two people who live on the mainland. kevin and christine church. have you decided whether you will go along with the mandatory evacuation? are you going to get out? >> i want to get out. i don't want to take chances. >> kevin, you're on the fence. >> i don't want to leave the house. >> this storm is a serious one. haven't taken a hit here in many, many years. this one -- are you taking this more seriously than the ones in the past? >> we're prepared, i guess. we'll see what happens. >> how are you going to convince

him? >> oh, boy. i don't know. i will though. i'll convince him. >> she will. she'll get her way. if it comes down to it. we'll see how it is tomorrow and play it by ear. by tomorrow, maybe we'll go somewhere. >> all right. play it by ear. a lot of times people, drew, have other relatives that live in other areas or friends they can stay with. that certainly is an option. we also understand that hospitals here are already evacuating too. so this is a good day to prepare while the sun is still shining. drew? >> susan, let me ask you about the weather. you're not seeing signs of a hurricane yet, right? >> reporter: not at all. it's a great day to go to the beach. it's also a good day to get to the store and stock up on all the essentials that you're going to need. so certainly starting tommy suspect, having been through these and watching the forecast, the weather will start to turn tomorrow, possibly in the afternoon when some of the extreme outer bands start to reach the new york metropolitan

area. >> it is indeed a beautiful day in new york. we're going to talk with a restaurant owner who fire island in the next hour. susan, thanks a lot. we'll continue to follow your progress in the storm as well. we're not going to stray far from hurricane irene, but there are other things going on today. including a fascinating first look inside moammar gadhafi's secret tunnels. >> we don't know what we might encounter in here. it's very, very dark. this is gadhafi's inner sanctum. >> the ever intrepid sara sidner discovers the passageways under the city of trip low. we'll show you what she found, coming up next.

we'll continue to follow hurricane irene. but moammar gadhafi still at large. 300 miles from tripoli, has been attacked by british warplanes. not clear why. in the libyan castle, three main pockets of fighting are reported. one near the port, one south of gadhafi's former compound and one near the airport. ten or so miles to the south. these pockets of combat appear to be getting smaller and

smaller. in other parts of the city, calm enough, traffic has returned. there are even uniformed police. there's some optimism afoot there. >> i am -- >> when did you come to the street? today? >> today, yes. today. today, yes, today. in the new libya. >> good to see smiling faces. a new libya. today rebels mark the regime's collapse by toppling a famous sculpture that many of us have seen outside the gadhafi compound. graffiti artists got to it first. you have heard about that network of tunnels through which gadhafi may have escaped. turns out there's an underground bunker beneath the compound. sara sidner takes us through the dictator's final -- >> we don't know what we might encounter here. this is gadhafi's inner sanctum. take off my hat here.

there's no reason to have this on because these are really thick walls. >> check out this massive door with this incredibly sturdy lock. you can also see the communications here. i mean, this is set up like a survival bunker. that's exactly, i think, what the plan was. this is incredible. i mean, there is literally a city under here. you can see, wow, obviously nato bombed just there. you can see that there's a huge hole in the roof. actually, if we were to pop our heads out there, there's dirt there. this is part of the tv studio. he even has professional videotapes there. so you're seeing the professional tapes here. obviously, these are where some of his messages are recorded. there is tons of them. i mean, look. 90-minute ones. this whole place is filled with some of gadhafi's recordings.

be interesting to see what's on them. where we're going now supposedly takes us to the house of resistance where you'll see a sign of gadhafi fists like this in front of the home. it's a very famous place. everyone knows it. but the guards are getting spooked that are with us. the opposition says let's get out of here. they believe these tunnels go all the way to the airport and all the way to the rixos hotel. they just have not had the time to go all the way through them. just to get an idea of how big it is, this is a golf cart. obviously, it can fit all the way down these corridors. i'm sure it was used to -- because this place is so big, to get back and forth. unbelievable. sara sidner, cnn, underneath tripoli. >> we are keeping a close eye on hurricane irene as it churns in the atlantic at this hour. many fearing the storm itself, and what it could do the

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and less time on paperwork. ♪ dell. the power to do more. yup, we had a good year at chevy. they gave us a consumers digest best buy award. then they gave us an iihs top safety pick and you... well, you gave us your approval. so we thought, why not give a little back. the chevy model year wrap up. get in on our greatest model year yet. and now, very-well qualified lessees can get a low mileage lease on a chevy cruze ls for around $169 a month. our greatest model year yet is wrapping up. here are some of the other top stories we're working at this hour. in a speech today, fed chairman ben bernanke declined to tip his hand on o the future of the -- he singled that second round of

"quantitative easing" what some call printing more money to try to spur the economy. he said the fed will map its course at a two-day meeting next month. smoke pouring out of a casino in mexico. the target of a deadly attack on thursday. at least 52 people were killed here. gunmen burst into the building and set it on fire. as rescue crews keep searching, officials believe the attack is possibly related to the continuing drug cartel whars in mexico. 18 people in nigeria's capital. a white suv drove into the compound and then the vehicle detonat detonated. the u.n. secretary condemning this attack. coming up next, i'll speak with a man who led the national hurricane center for seven years. one of the most trusted voices especially on hurricanes in this country. find out why he's calling hurricane irene his nightmare scenario.

plus irene is headed right for him in a tiny north carolina but one man says he's not going anywhere. he'll tell us why next. can i have some ice cream, please ? no, it's just for new people. hey ! chocolate, vanilla or strawberry ? chocolate ! chocolate it is ! yeah, but i'm new, too. umm... he's new... er... than you. even kids know it's wrong to treat new friends better than old friends. at ally bank, we treat all our customers fairly, with no teaser rates and no minimum deposit to open. it's just the right thing to do.

okay. hurricane irene less than a day away now from slamming into north carolina. already the effects of the storm are being felt in some coastal areas. this is atlantic beach, north carolina. that was this morning. gray overcast, ominous. irene with wind speeds of 110 miles an hour now could possibly intensify when it hits the coast. people in hyde county being told to evacuate. in a state of emergency declared for counties east of interstate 95. new yorkers also bracing for irene. bottled water, flashlights flying off shelves as you can imagine. residents are being told the city's subway system could be

flooded. new york governor's office says the metropolitan transit authority will begin a system wide shutdown saturday afternoon, joining philadelphia and new jersey in suspending service. strong winds and heavy rains are expected to inundate dozens of states along the eastern seaboard. chad myers following it all. chad, what is the latest? >> i don't think that we're paying enough attention to the potential effects of long island, connecticut, rhode island and even massachusetts. because those places will be on the right side of the potential eye of the storm. we love to focus on the city because people live there. there's business. it's the heart of america. but a lot of people live in connecticut, rhode island and massachusetts. i just want you all to be ready for this, because there's a potential large impact to that area to the right of the eye. this is where the tornados could be. this is where the storm surge could truly be. this is where the biggest impact of the unreported so far area of -- maybe i don't want people

to get complacent there. it's hitting new york, not us. it hits new york as a category 1, 85 miles per hour storm. it certainly could push a whole lot of water right into connecticut, right into rhode island, in nair began set. i know it's only -- it's not a category 3 oar 4 that it was forecast to be. that is still a big storm. a category 2 storm, significant enough that you need to worry about it if you are north or south of the line from new jersey right on over to cape hatteras. there's the storm. category 2. it drives itself. it's finally made a full turn. this turn actually happened because of the winds pushing it this way. those winds tore it apart a little bit. that's actually why the storm got down to what it was. it was a little bit of shear, the computer models didn't forecast well. over the islands, over duck, maybe ka ral a at 100 miles per hour. along long island. all the way from wildwood right to long branch as an 80 to 85

miles per hour storm. that could tear up a whole lot of people. the amount of money that this thing could damage could really be significant. >> i want to show you that video i teased up last time. talking about knuckle heads doing dumb things. these are people who are in boynton beach. they thought they could hold on to that rail and ride out these waves. i think eight of them were flipped into the water. they couldn't believe the force of the water. i think a lot of people after this weekend nurturing broken arms and legs or worse will be saying the same thing unfortunately. max mayfield, former national hurricane director, he's with us right now. you have called this, sir, a nightmare scenario, one you thought about for a long time. why this hurricane? why this warning? >> well, you know, i think that's certainly one of my nightmare scenarios i had when i was at the national hurricane

center. one reason is just the population at risk here. a chance -- we don't want to make the mistake that a lot of the media made in katrina by just focusing on one area, one city like new york city. they did that in new orleans. the people in the outlying parishes and louisiana, the mississippi coast, people felt like nobody was talking to them. this is going to impact a large yar from south carolina all the up into new england. >> max, let's talk about freshwater flooding. one of your worst snain scenarios. this could put down six, ten inches of rainfall in new york, the wettest august of all-time. trees are going to come down with the wind. talk about freshwater flooding and the danger. >> there's often large loss of life with hurricanes and the freshwater flooding even well and away of the coast. just that turn around, don't

drown program from the national weather service is good. if you can't see that road, don't drive there. but we don't want to minimize those coastal -- the storm surge wave impacts. even though chad mentioned the strong winds will be on the east side, we don't know exactly if that's going to go over long island or east of there. even in the strongest winds and the hurricane are,let say, east of the new york city area, this is such a large circulation. in fact, you can see it here. they extend to the center almost 300 miles. that's about double the typical size of a hurricane. even if those -- the core is to the east. that strong -- that large strong circulation, that's going to -- waves into the entire coastal area from north carolina upward into new england. >> is it also a nightmare,let be honest, a lot of people in the tristate area have very, very

little experience riding out, riding through, preparing for a hurricane. many of them may take a macho approach that this is going to be another storm. is that another problem that we have to deal with? >> absolutely. down here in florida, we've had enough hurricanes. we don't have an excuse not to have a hurricane plan and hurricane supplies and know what to do. it's understandable that folks in the northeast really don't have that hurricane experience. i really like the way fema administrator craig few gait said this today. if you want to change the outcome, we can't change it from the damage. some of this damage is going to occur no matter what. you can change the outcome and help prevent loss of life in people will just heed the advice of local officials. the emergency managers, they've written these emergency plans, they know the time lines, but if individuals don't take that personal responsibility and follow through and do what they're told to do, we will have

lost loss of life. >> what about the high-rises and the windows and such and the people that live there? >> well, the high-rises are a concern. the higher up you go, the storm, the wind, yes. if you have a category 1 hurricane down on the surface, by the time you get, say, 30 stories or so up in a high-rise, you could have a category stronger. it really depends on where the strong winds are. the strongest winds are really to the east, there is some hope. but the winds are still going to be strong enough to give the windows a real test. >> drew? >> max mayfield, thank you. understated, calm as usual. but telling us to be prepared for this one, i think. >> i love that voice. >> max, i do love -- >> thank you. >> really appreciate it. >> thanks, chad. not everybody is leaving the hurricane zone.

yesterday we introduced you to byron miller, the owner of the ocracoke harbor inn. he's ignoring evacuation warnings, staying put on the ocracoke island which is only accessible by ferry, boat or plane. byron miller joins me by phone. are you still in the same situation, byron? not having second thoughts about your decision? >> caller: totally, totally happy with my decision. we've pretty much finished the preparations. now it's a wait and see. >> i assume you still have power and that the surf doesn't appear to be that bad. when do you expect to lose power and when you say we've made all our preparations, i'm assuming preparations for how you're going to eat over the next few days. >> caller: yes. i would imagine we'll have power through most of the night, if not into early tomorrow morning. we've got plenty of canned fish and bottled water and sandwich

makings and all that. we do have a generator that we can use after the storm for power, refrigerators and stuff like that. >> how many fellow islanders do you estimate are out there with you? >> caller: i'd say probably about 300 out of a thousand. >> so a good third decided to stay. do you check on each other? are you working with each other to make sure if anybody does need help that you might be able to help them? because at this point, i don't think emergency crews are going to help you guys. >> caller: correct. it's such a small community that a lot of people help other people board stuff up and do things. everybody is pretty much kind of aware of like who stayed and where they are and what not. you know, if something were to happen and there's always somebody around to help. >> byron, we'll continue to watch your progress as long as technology allows it. certainly after this storm we'll

be checking in with you. thanks a lot. we want to show you some new pictures we're getting of an amtrak derailment. it happened in nebraska. the southwestern part of the state this morning, about 8:00, 178 people on board. three people with nonlife-threatening injuries were taken to a hospital. everybody else is okay. but you're looking at the first video that we have received of the wreckage. the train hit farm equipment on the tracks and derailed. some of the ten cars of that train there. of course, we're tracking hurricane irene hour by hour as it moves closer towards the eastern seaboard. one spot we're watching in particular, extremely low-lying areas around annapolis, maryland. the slightest bit of rain can cause flooding. athena jones is there now. i've been watching all afternoon. it looks like a beautiful day but there's a race for the sandbags. which is what this is all about. we're going to talk to you about

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it is and it's heading basically directly for us. >> take a look at this city evacuation map. they're posted across new york now. the map shows the areas most in danger of flooding. all of zone a, if you can look at it, must evacuate. also under mandatory evacuation orders. the rockaways. the red dots indicate evacuation centers. they should open within a few minutes. bloomberg also announced all metro transit is going to stop in new york city tomorrow at noon. amtrak is warning of service disruptions up and down the east coast through the weekend. and in new jersey, an exodus under way. tens of thousands are fleeing the jersey shore. you can see the backup there. the approaching storm even scared atlantic city casinos into shutting down. in maryland people are told, if they stay put, be prepared to be without services like electricity or even clean water for days. cnn's athena jones is in

annapolis, maryland, the capital and one of the waterfront cities. it still looks beautiful but that's probably going to change pretty quick. >> reporter: well, exactly. it's a really beautiful day here today. people are out and about. many of them trying to enjoy the day. while also preparing for tomorrow. we've heard from city officials they're expecting about a three-foot storm surge, maybe 60 miles per hour wind by saturday afternoon. so this time tomorrow we expect to look very, very different. the main message from the mayor who we spoke to this morning has been for people to take this seriously and not take chances. they've been handing out sandbags off and on all day. we talked to residents here, people who work for companies about what they're doing to prepare and they say that they've learned their lesson from the last hurricane, hurricane isabel. many of them saw several feet of water in their establishments. they said they'll have to get more sandbags, raise it higher. one man we spoke with earlier,

here's what he had to say about the sandbag situation. >> everybody learned their lesson. it's recent enough history, we got bit not too long ago. everybody is driving every sandbag they can. it's like the pinata breaks and the candy is on the ground. as soon as the truck shows up, they're gone. >> reporter: so we were out there earlier talking to chuck basil and to several people gathering sandbags. early in the day, this delivery started happening early this morning. you saw trucks every 20 minutes or so early on. then there was a lull, maybe 40 minutes. then a two-hour lull. they went through the 1600 sandbags the city was providing. just a little while ago, they came back in with another 800 sandbags and so people are scrambling to get them and protect their homes and their businesses. as you mentioned, this is a very low-lying area. sometimes it can flood and this area where i'm standing, when high tide comes in. that's about a foot in annapolis. a three-foot storm surge is

significant and people want to be prepared. drew? >> athena, we'll continue to watch that. one of the many areas we'll be watching as hurricane irene moves north. new york hasn't seen a hurricane in more than 70 years. sunday that's going to change most likely. because forecasters say irene really could smack right into the big apple. if that happens, well, it could be catastrophic. some of the possible scenarios coming up next. for broccoli, say one. for toys, say two. toys ! the system can't process your response at this time. what ? please call back between 8 and 5 central standard time. he's in control. goodbye. even kids know it's wrong to give someone the run around. at ally bank you never have to deal with an endless automated system. you can talk to a real person 24/7. it's just the right thing to do.

>> it's hard to imagine a hurricane this size slam into new york city but even if irene

turns and new york avoids a direct hit, the storm surge could cause a lot of damage. how is manhattan preparing? >> reporter: steve and debbie o'sullivan live in rockaway beach in queens, new york. a tranquil setting. beautiful wide shoreline. they never used to worry about hurricanes. >> we never really understood the greater impact of it. we never had a great fear of them. we used to play out in them. >> what's changed? >> katrina. >> reporter: the o'sullivan's whose house lives one block from the ocean are thinking about stocking up on hurricane supplies. >> i really am seriously considering getting more supplies of water and dry goods and -- it is a worry for me. he's not as worried as i am.

there may be reason for concern. new york city hasn't experienced a big hurricane since 1938. combined with the law of averages, many experts believe another nay jor storm may be coming, and soon. >> is it going to be a slow rise? >> yeah, yeah. it's going to come up slowly. about the rite rate that you fill a bathtub. >> reporter: this coastal geologist believes if a major hurricane hits, it could be catastrophic. deaths might surpass katrina. >> the most dangerous thing in new york is the new yorker. and the new yorker thinks they've been tested by everything but very few new yorkers have been in the eye of a hurricane and know how uncontrollable the energy is. >> national hurricane center computer models and comprehensive studies are chilling. the water is pushed into lower manhattan, steady rising. seawater pours through the holland and brooklyn battery

tunnels. jfk goes under an astounding 20 feet of water. water in the wall street district could be seven feet deep. the subway is knocked down. >> and there's going to be glass all over the street, glass flying through the air. one study put economic loss from a category three hurricane at $100 billion. high population areas and very expensive properties. the results can be catastrophic. >> reporter: there is a plan in place if necessary to move 2.3 million people out of coastal zones. but how many will go? delores orr heads the rockaway area. >> i hear a lot of them talking they're not going anywhere. and that's a concern. >> for the o'sullivans, being prepared just makes sense, even here in new york where the hurricanes are as unheard of as

the yankees not making the playoffs. >> so what if hurricane i ren does wallop wall street? some traders are already planning ahead. alison kosik with destales on that. we'll be right back to ask you those questions. ♪ [ jim ] i need to push out a software upgrade. build a new app for the sales team in beijing. and convince the c.e.o. his email will find him... wherever he is. i need to see my family while they're still awake.

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anticipated than hurricane irene was this speech by ben bernanke today out in jackson hole, wyoming. turned out to be a big tease. alison kosik has that story. what didn't the fed chief say is what was taken notice there on wall street. >> exactly. and you know what, wall street didn't react too badly, too. but what ben bernanke didn't say what he was going to offer a new stimul stimulus. wall street seems to be okay with that. what bernanke did do is he left the door open to something. now, he wasn't specific. instead he used some fed speed. the fed has a range of tools that could be used to support the economy. bernanke said the fed will continue to discuss those tools at its next meeting in september. he put the onus on the white house and congress, that they have to do something to run the

economy. he kind of waved a finger at congress saying you've got to not mess this up like you did the debt ceiling debate. >> when he spoke, the dow took a dive but came back quite strong, right? >> it diz. i think you saw wall street processing what he was saying. initially, there was disappointment about the fact that there was no stimulus package coming out of this meeting. but what they also are focussing on is this sort of door that he left open in september. president obama is giving a big jobs speech in september. so there is some expectation that something will come out of that as well. >> let me ask you about hurricane irene and all these dire predictions for new york. are there plans in place to keep the marks open monday should there be big flooding or problems? >> well, the expectation is that the new york stock exchange will be open, but you have to remember where wall street is. wall street is basically at the southern most part of manhattan. sop even when the city here gets heavy rain, we see a lot of

flooding down here. what we did see happening today, there are sandbags being placed outside of the exchange. once again, you know, the idea is to keep trading open, but they do have contingency plans in place. and a lot of the firms down here that trade down here, they put their employees up in hotels for the week, so hopefully they can show up for work. but you have to remember, drew, even if the physical trading floor here behind me does have to close down, the electronic trading, that can continue. drew? >> absolutely. they're ringing the bell to close this week. how are the numbers? >> we're looking good. it's a rare friday we're up. the dow up 2.5%. s&p 500 up 1.5%. a good way to start a difficult weekend here in new york. >> it is the top of the hour now and it's considered unprecedented as hurricane irene gets closer to the east coast, america's biggest city calling for mandatory evacuations in

certain areas, the first time that's ever happened in new york city. looking live at pictures we found of waves now crashing in north carolina. evacuation centers have opened their doors. we're going to go live in a moment, but we're also expecting nasa to release brand-new pictures of this storm. that's just minutes away. but first, don't wait, don't delay, get out of its path. hurricane irene is an extremely dangerous storm. those words, a warning from the white house as the east coast is bracing for this monster storm. you are looking at pictures of nag's head, north carolina, just one of the areas in the danger zone. hurricane warnings in effect from north carolina to new york city. irene expected to come ashore around north carolina's outer banks late tonight through tomorrow morning. after that first hit now, irene is expected to target the northeast. president obama cutting his martha's vineyard vacation short by one day to get back to the white house, urging americans to prepare for the worst.

>> i cannot stress this highly enough. if you are in the projected path of this hurricane, you have to take precautions now. don't wait, don't delay. we all hope for the best but we have to be prepared for the worst. >> evacuations in full swing now along north carolina's outer banks. and that's where david mattingly is in kill devil hills. david, the situation continues to get worse and worse, i imagine. >> that's right. we just got a very brief shower just a few minutes ago, our first taste of rain as those outer bands continue to creep their way north up these islands. in this area, we've seen people taking the warnings very seriously. you can look behind me, nothing on this beach but a bunch of seagulls and surf right now. the mandatory evacuation order went out for people who live on this island today. they were told now is the time

to get out and pack your cars. what they're looking for when this storm comes through is this storm surge where this surge right here will come up and almost violently pound against the dunes that are up and down these barrier islands. when it pounds here and there's a lot of places that aren't as strong as what you see behind me, that surf is going to punch right through these dunes and then flood the roads and the property on the other side. there's also a problem when this system continues to move to the north. it's going to pull some of the water that's on the west side of the island, we're talking in the sound and in the bays, pull that water on shore as well. i've seen that happen before, and that can be just as dangerous. flooding streets and making them absolutely impassable. the authorities here are telling everyone now is the time to go. and if you stay, then there's a chance you will be on your own for a minimum of 72 hours. that's during the storm and after. because emergency crews won't be able to get to you. and as you can see why the way

this beach looks right now, drew, it appears that just about everyone is taking those warnings seriously. >> are you indeed seeing the bands. you can see those bands especially when they're first coming in. >> well, they're not valely visible from the ground. it just looks like a lot of crowds up there, coming in from the atlantic. and the same with the surf and the wind. the wind is picking up gradually with every hour. the surf gets a little stronger, a little more violent every hour. we are not going to see some really bad conditions until tomorrow. it's about this the time tomorrow we're going to see hurricane-force winds sometime around noon. but it's going to be a long and dangerous event. they may start at noon, but we're going to see hurricane force winds, possibly ten hours after that. so everyone who is hoar, believe me, is hunkering down for a storm of this very young

century. >> we can start narrowing in on the hours. is he right? we're gong to see on the outer banks, around 4:00? >> probably earlier than that. everything goes downhill rather rapidly. they focus on the eye. everybody looks at the eye. things start going down 100 miles from the center where you can get hurricane-force winds four hours before the eye. that's what we have with a storm this size. it's as big as europe from the north to the south, east to the west, you can cover europe with that storm right there. and i have brand-new information from a whole company that look at intricate detailed numbers, where people live, how much their house is worth, what every wind gust will do to that house. 46 million people will

experience 50-mile-an-hour sustained wind or more. with wind damage alone, there will be $2.7 billion, with a b, dollars of damage. so the over $1 million of damage the outer banks over to atlantic city, farther to the north, damage all along the coast. 100,000 to 1 million. every census track here along the jersey shore and then a couple of red spots there with greater than $1 million, just wind. not including flooding. not including surge. this is just wind damage. look what's going to happen to the eastern side of long island. every census track here obviously there's a lot of money here. the houses are bigger here. they have more to damage. so the damage would be higher.

if you push that through connecticut and province, this is where the hurricane winds will be all the way up to boston. then the red, the orange, the yellow. it's all the way back into the adirondacks and the catskills. a very impressive map. that's what you can expect as the storm gets closer. there's the center. you can see the eye again on radar. couldn't see it again for a while because it was too far offshore. land fall very close to atlantic beach. and that looks like land fall about 7:00 a.m. tomorrow with the eye wall. but things are going to getz bumpy all night long. winds are going to go 40, 50, 60, 70 and finally 80, 90 by tomorrow. you need to get out tonight. there's no time tomorrow. 4. >> areas in danger of flooding, all the dots on the map indicate where evacuation centers are located. those centers are now open. and poppy harlow is at one of

those centers. poppy, new york a densely populated city. how is this evacuation notice being taken? >> well, you know, drew, it's perhaps most important in places like we are right now, we're at the largest hospital on staten island, wae we're on the south shore. to give you perspective, we're only half a mile from the beach that is going to get hit incredibly hard. what you see going on behind me now, all of these new york city buses, these are evacuating patients. got about 430 patients here. so far they manage to discharge 200. those people have been able to go home. it takes a long time. i've watched patients come out with oxygen tanks on beds. three different patients who were evacuated from the burn unit by helicopter. this is a process that takes a

long time. it's a delicate process. and just to explain the magnitude of this for you. this has never happened at this hospital before. the director of ems says they've prepared for this, run through drills but never before has this hospital been evacuated and drew, never before has the city of new york issued a mandatory evacuation. it's a wlong process. they did start doing this at the mayor's recommendation late last night. they expect to be done kpaul fully evacuated by 11:00 a.m. tomorrow. that should be in plenty of time before this storm, this hurricane hits new york city, drew. >> poppy, we thought you were in an evacuation center. this is even more interesting. where are these patients going? >> that's a very good question, drew. they're going to other hospitals all over new york. they're going to hospitals in long island. we're just on live right now. just one moment. but they're going to hospitals

in long island. they're going to hospitals in new york city. what i've been told by the public information officers here, drew, is that it's very difficult to find beds for these people. that's hard for them to do as well. they have to find locations for all these patients to go. they are literally inside the hospital lined up, hospital bed after hospital bed. their families coming, concerned. but they're doing this, it's a fairly orderly process and they're doing it in time, drew, to be well ahead of this storm because they got enough notice. but this is one of the most serious situations. you know covering katrina, you don't want to be in a hospital that's in the path of a hurricane. >> i was just thinking that, poppy. this is exactly what didn't happen during hurricane katrina. it led to a whole lot of problems and deaths. so as troubles as this is, it's a good sign. poppy harlow, thank you so much.

still ahead, how homeland security is preparing for this storm including warnings about power outages, blackouts. plus we're going to talk live with a hotel owner who is refusing to leave his hotel on the carolina coast, even though her area is just hour ace way from becoming the hurricane's bull's eye.  

we're monitoring hurricane irene. take a look at the size of this thing. irene now almost 1/3 the size of the east coast. chad says it's as big as europe.

let's bring in jean in ocean city, maryland. what are you seeing right now? >> right now it's a beautiful day, but that big lady is headed here and people know it and they're getting out of town. this was the pool at the hotel. they were full of families here. they have put beach chairs in the water to try to keep them from blowing away with the winds they're expecting irene to bring. in addition, here's the beach, the famous beach of ocean city. it's nine or ten miles long. ordinarily on a weekend like this, there would be about 200,000 people in this town. there were probably only about 100 or so besides emergency workers. they have paid attention to the mandatory evacuation orders. as of 6:00 p.m. tomorrow, waste

water will be shut off. the mayor is worried about businesses here. he warns that he expects some flooding. right now, the prediction is we're going to see sustained hurricane force winds. that's not something that typically happens here in ocean city. we're going to see because of the six to eight foot storm surge, because of the amount of rain that's predicted, with eoar going to see a lot of flooding in the low-lying areas. o. >> now, he beliefs the city is in much better shape now than it was in 1985 when hurricane gloria slammed into ocean city. the army corps of engineers built bums and dunes down there to protect the development. earlier today, members of the army corps were down there with surveying equipment. they tell me they're trying to get a fix on how much sand is down there now so they can tell

how much irene washes away after she's left. >> are they worried that people have no experience with hurricanes in ocean city? >> well, you would think they might be, but the people i talk to here seem to well understand the risk. as i say, most of them have already heeded the orders to get out of town. the police here have been going door to door, knocking, telling people it is time to go. and for the most part, they tell me people have been compliant. they are indeed leaving dodge before irene arrives. >> thanks. appreciate that. on okrakoke island, one hotel

owner is staying put. how are you doing? >> good, how are you? >> i'm good. why are you staying? >> caller: i married into the hotel business. we have a big responsibility to take care of the property and the buildings we have to look after. it's just a matter of taking care of our business and our personal property really. >> and i mean, during this storm, what can you actually do that you feel you have to be there to take care of the property? maybe explang win why you don'tt to leave. >> caller: well, during the actual storm, you know, we'll obviously be in the safest place, but afterwards, as soon as it clears up, once the storm moves out, it's beautiful and we need to get right back on it, putting the furniture back, putting the screens back in place so we're ready. because just as soon as they open back up, the tourists will be back on vacation and we need to get ready for that. depending on the damage, that can take a couple of days and

hopefully no more than that. it just depends on what we're looking at. >> you've obviously lost this weekend to tourism. is this a major blow? or is the bigger blow really going to be the damage, the insurance, the prepation rations that you've have to make to get your property back in order. >> caller: this weekend is an off weekend. there's a lull before labor day weekend. so thankfully, most businesses weren't as busy as peak summ summertime busyness. of course, it is a loss, but there are bisz zier times. you know, our main concern is really just the property and the tides coming up from the sound is really our biggest concern. >> you have a mandatory evacuation order there.

they can't come in at gun point and force you off the island, which is obviously why you are there. but what they do tell you is if something happens, if you need us, if there's an emergency, we're not coming. >> caller: i know. i've been here for alex so i have experienced some, you know, a 1 and a 2. i'm not saying that i'm prepared for, you know, for what is to come. but i've been here through some. so hopefully we'll be all right. >> sarah clark, one of 300 or so on the island hanging out trying to protect their property. we hope you' we'll be able to talk to you after this ordeal is over with. >> all right, thank you. >> i cannot stress this highly enough. if you are in the projected path

of this hurricane, you have to take precautions now. >> this is the warning from the president. this looks like an historic hurricane and the cost of damage alone could mean big trouble for an already fragile economy. plus, any second, brand-new picture of the hurricane from space. stay right there. >> waiting till the last minute is not a smart thing to do. this is life threatening. i know you're gonna love. [ barks ] yes, it's new beneful healthy fiesta. made with wholesome grains, real chicken, even accents of tomato and avocado. yeah! come on! [ barking ] gotta love the protein for muscles-- whoo-hoo! and omega-rich nutrition for that shiny coat. ever think healthy could taste so good? [ woman announcing ] new beneful healthy fiesta. another healthful, flavorful beneful. met an old man at the top asked him if he had a secret and the old man stopped and thought and said:

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>> there's a lot of speculation on how much damage irene will

do. but "the new york times" put together a worst case scenario and it's not pretty. a complicated dpat that model following the financial data loss in previous hurricanes. he says if it hits manhattan, it would likely flood the subways as well as neighborhoods like the east village, financial district, tribeca, brooklyn and most of the rockaways. a lot of pricey real estates in those areas. this is the worst case scenario, but it is ominous. my next guest spent years as director of the national hurricane center, and he says one of his greatest nightmares has always been a major hurricane moving up the northeast coast. max mayfield is going to join me live next. you know when something's bad -- but you do it anyway?

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the southwestern part of the state, 178 people were aboard that train. three people with nonlife threatening injuries were taken to a hospital. looking at the video for 9 first time, the wreckage hit some farm equipment and knocked the cars off the tracks there. it is hard to imagine a hurricane this size slam into new york city. experts are now warning, even if irene turns and manhattan isn't a direct hit, a storm surge could cause a lot of damage. cnn's zarrella is there. reerl this family never used to worry about hurricanes. >> never understood the greater impact of it. we never had a great fear.

we used to play out in them. >> reporter: what's changed? >> katrina. >> reporter: the o'sullivan's whose house sits one block from the ocean, are thinking about stocking up on hurricane supplies. >> i really am seriously considering getting more supplies of water and dry goods. he's not as worried as i am. >> reporter: new york city hasn't experienced a big hurricane since 1938. with the increase in hurricane activity, combined with the law of averages, many experts another major storm may be coming and soon. >> it's going to come up slowly, about the rate you fill a bathtub. >> reporter: this new yorker believes if a major hurricane hits, it could be catastrophic.

deaths might surpass katrina. the most dangerous thing for a new yorker is the new yorker. they don't know how uncontrollable the energy of a hurricane is. >> seawater would pour through the holland and battery tunnels. jfk goes under in an astounding 20 feet of water. water in the wall street district could be seven feet deep. the subway is knocked down. >> there's going to be glass all over the street. glass flying through the air. >> one study put economic loss from a category three hurricane at $100 billion. >> metropolitan areas have high population density and expensive properties.

throw a hurricane into that scenario and the results can be catastrophic. >> there is a plan in place if necessary to move 2.3 million people out of coastal zones. but how many will go? delores orr heads the community board in rockaway. >> for those that were raised here, i hear them today talking that they're not going anywhere. and that's a concern. >> reporter: for the o'sullivans, being prepared just makes sense. even here in new york where hurricanes are as unheard of as the yankees not making the playoffs. john zarrella, cnn, new york. >> always leaves us with a chuckle. chad myers is with me here. we're joined down in miami and south florida with the former director of the national hurricane center. mack mayfield, thanks so much for joining us. you have said this is part of a nightmare scenario you had always worried about going up the northeast coast. can you explain that to us?

>> we talked previously here that large population and not really hurricane experience. by the time they get north of carolinas, the hurricane is a very infrequent thing and i understand people not focussing on the hurricanes, but they really need to heed the advice of the officials. this is the real thing. >> it's a 2. we just saw the numbers that we kind of focus on, max. it's a 2, goes down to a 1. many times we're warning people about 3s and 4s and increasing. are you concerned at all that these numbers are going to get in the way of people making good decisions. >> in hurricane ike, it was only a category two, yet they had a storm surge.

a category 2 hit okakoke island. you don't need hurricane-force winds to cause trees to fall down and power lines to fall down. and especially with all the rain you have up there in the northeast. this is a real concern. >> it's mad myers. we know that the storm can go left and right. but just put on your had for a second and tell me, what's your biggest fear. what do you think will be the biggest problem with this land falling hurricane in the northeast? where is it? >> you have to have your plan that includes the storm surge and the wave action on top of the surge, the strong winds and the inland flooding. there's going to be a tremendous

rain, six to sen inches, maybe 15 inches according to the national weather service. that's going to cause a lot of problems. and can cause loss of life if we're not very, very careful. >> what happens to long island sound when this wave action and wind action pushes all that water to the east river from basically two different directions? >> the circulation is so large on the north side of long island. it will be coming in from the south and from the east and that could be a problem there for sure. i don't want to say anything contradictory about something put in the national hockey league. i know my friends in the weather forecast offices and hurricane center, they're working closely with the local and state

emergency officials. the emergency management knows what can happen communicating with the forecasters and the national weather service there. we want to make sure they respond to those messages from officials. >> the duration of rain is going to be longer and longer because of the size. i'll throw this out do you and chad, any chance, we can count on it to keep moving? >> no. it's going to keep moving. there's no doubt about that. it is going to have this large rain shield out ahead of it. and there's going to be a heavy swath of rain, you know, well in

advance. in fact, you know, those outer rain bands start in new york city on saturday afternoon. and then the tropical storm force winds, you know, likely that evening, and the wind season going to continue to increase and hurricane force winds sometime on sunday morning. so you want to have all your preparations done before the tropical storm force winds get there. and so really you've got today and you've got the morning on saturda you don't want to wait too long here. >> max, thanks. chad, thank you, too. still ahead, i'm going to speak with a bar owner in new york. he's not going anywhere. also this -- >> we don't know what we might encounter in here and it's very, very dark. this is incredible. there is literally a city you should here. >> uncovering the secret tunnels beneath moammar gadhafi's

compound in libya. we're also getting disturbing words that hundred of prisoners who are right now walking free in libya have some dark histories. cnn terrorism analyst paul crookshank joins me live with brand-new information on that. and also the latest on hurricane irene. stay right here. discover aveeno positively radiant tinted moisturizers with scientifically proven soy complex and natural minerals. give you sheer coverage instantly, then go on to even skin tone in four weeks. aveeno tinted moisturizers. [ doug ] i got to figure this out. i want to focus on innovation. but my data is doubling. my servers are maxed out. i need to think about something else when i run. [ male announcer ] with efficient i.t. solutions from dell, doug can shift up to 50% of his company's technology spend from operating costs to innovation. so his company runs better, and so does doug. dell. the power to do more.

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to libya now. say what you will about moammar gadhafi. he kept the lid on his country's islamic extremists. how? easy. islamic radicals were thrown in prison. remember this from wednesday? anti-gadhafi rebels freed from a prison in tripoli. cnn learned among those liberated are hundreds of men who are believed to be supporters of al qaeda. they're now on the loose. the man who uncovered this story is kn in terrorism analyst call

crookshank. rejoins us live in london. give us details on just who is free in lib a. >> we're hearing 600 prisoners are believed to be pro al qaeda militants, people imprisoned there by al qaeda who had been there for seven years at the height of the iraqi insurgency. many of these individuals actually tried to go to iraq. some of them came back from iraq after fighting against american troops there. so there are rather large concerns at the moment about who these individuals are and what they may do in the future. >> are these potential political leaders being released or just fighters? >> we know very, very little about who these people were.

they never got trials. some of them were just thrown into jail by the gadhafi regime. others had ties to squall. these are young individuals that got out of jail. they're part of a sort of younger generation of radicals. more extreme than some of the older generations of jihadists. because of that, there's a lot of concern, are they going to join rebel ranks now or are they going to try to fight outside the chain of command outside the traditional council. a lot is unknown at this point, drew. >> i know you've been talking to a lot of experts and analysts. what is their greatest fear about these particular individuals being released? and i should also add, paul, do the rebels who freed them, did they know who they were letting out of prison? >> it's not clear when the rebels released these prisoners if they knew who they were trying to release, but the fear really is these people, are

people with deep sympathy to squall, that they they're now free, they may try to organize within libya. the military has only seen flickers. very little squall present at the moment in the country. this this may allow al qaeda to build up operations there. what we've seen in the last few months in the chaos of civil war, some radical extremists really coming to the fore in libya. in the eastern parts of the country, they even set up some training camps. >> you have a very detailed article. it's posted on our website. okay, so it is posted. paul, thanks a lot. good to see you over in london.

thanks for bringing that to us. we're hours now from a mandatory evacuation for new york city's fire island. one bar owner says no, no thanks i'm not leaving. i'm going to talk to him next. 

any questions? no. you know...

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while most people stock up on supplies and take a run for cover, some wait it out. andy, what do you have plan over the next few days? >> hey, how you doing? well, right now it's absolutely beautiful. this is a perfect beach day. and there were still people, you know, in the water, even though the waves are getting a little crazy. but for the most part, almost everybody else is gone. the ferries are only operating, taking people off of the beach and back to the mainland. and the fire department just went around telling everybody they had to leave, it's mandatory now. i've just been trying to close up my restaurant bar and there are people just sfrugling to put plywood on their windows. we've just been helping them out. i don't know if we'll leave or if we'll stay.

>> you may leave? andy is, that right, now you're thinking about leaving? >> caller: well, i'm actually here with some real salty born and raised fire islanders, so they're the only people that aren't scared right now. and they're a little older. i don't know. i just want to make sure that everybody is fine if i do head out, you know? i don't know. >> andy, i feel like i'm running a psychology show here. i'm sensing a little fear in your voice at this moment. did that fire truck coming by with the mega phone give you a little second thought? >> oh, it absolutely did. i don't want to leave anybody behind that i know and care about and just sit cozy on the mainland worrying, you know? if it gets absolutely 100%

chance that it's going to be completely dangerous and not worth staying here, we'll just pull everybody and get out of here. auz of right now, they're plan on staying and i'm planning on staying with them. >> when do you think is your drop dead decision? >> well, there's no car on fire island. everybody gets around on bikes and golfcarts. but the national seashore did reinstate driving for people who have per fits for tomorrow. they just have to be out of here by tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. i don't know how much later than that the ferries will run tomorrow. so that will have to be our make or break point and we'll have to decide by then. but we'll see when the time comes. >> all right, we're see iing pictures of your establishment with your cute signs outside. i hope you don't follow this advice, drinking up a storm. good luck to you, andy keller

and to all the people out on fire island. i do hope you make the right decisions this weekend. >>. >> caller: thank you. >> take care. in a city of 9 million people, we're getting a look at what would happen to lower manhattan if a storm surge hit, where the water would go. plus airlines, bus and subway service being canceled left and right as irene approaches the coast. mandatory evacuations are being issued. how unprecedented is this? we'll tell you this.

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>> this hurricane is already sna snarli snarling tral plans and irene hasn't even made land fall yet. >> this is rel really historic on so many fronts. the sheer number of people impacted, 65 million people from new england down towards the mid-atlantic. 45 million people will feel winds and experience 50-mile-an-hour wind gusts. boy, what are we going to see? it's really historic. massive disruptions. we've talked about that. of course, the sheer size, the movement, the slow movement of this hurricane. but new york city preemptively, what are they doing? transit shut down, the first time ever due to weather. at noon tomorrow, you're not going to be able to take the train, the bus, the subways, complete shutdown. and 7 million people use this in new york city every single day. 4 million use the subway alone.

not going to happen. complete shutdown tomorrow at noon. and all of the bridges, whether you're going over the bridges, the gw when those winds get to 60 miles an hour, they will be shut down and pleased as well. eastbound, can't do at 6:00 tonight. garden state parkway shut down. 8:00 tonight, south of exit 98. that's the roads, that's the rails, that's the subways. that's just this incredible thing happening in new york city. and certainly much of the northeast. in the northeast, the mid-atlantic, we're seeing delays, already preemptively, not even for today but tomorrow and sunday. already jet blue, getting out and delaying and canceling flights first. 800 flights already. and delta cancelling 1,300 flights into and from new york city and the surrounding areas

for tomorrow and for sunday. really saturday and sunday, the worst of this. boston, washington, d.c., philadelphia, major hubs being impacted. so 30,000 flights a day here in the u.s. so many of thm on the east coast. but it's not just the east coast, not the northeast, not the mid atlantaic. there were troubles in chicago and indianapolis today because of this. and this is just the beginning of it. we're really going to see a virtual stand still throughout so much of the airports throughout the country. >> more news unfolding in a speech. fed chairman ben bernanke refused to tip his hand. this time last year, he singled his second round of quantitative easing, what some called printing of money to try to spur the my. bernanke said today the fed will

map out its course at a two-day meeting next month. the dow, by the way, finishing in the green. up 134 points. at least 18 people killed in a deadly bomb attack at a u.n. building in nigeria's capital. a white suv drove into this compound and the vehicle detonated. not knowing who's responsible for the attack just yet. the nigerian president and the u.n. secretary both have condemned this attack. smoke pouring out of a casino. this is in mexico. monterey, the target of a deadly attack thursday. at least 52 people were killed. gunmen actually burst into the building and set it on fire. and as the rescue crews keep searching, the count of bodies may increase. mexican officials believe the attack is connected with warring drug cartels. we're just getting in brand-new data on where hurricane irene is heading now. and new hurricane warning just issued. when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp...

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new info on irene breaking right now. chad? '. >> the hurricane hunter aircraft cannot find 100 miles an hour. the hurricane center left it at 100 not to reduce it on us right now. they may have to do that later if they fly through and still can't find the 100 miles an hour winds. still being called a category two hurricane. moving north at 13 miles an hour.

how did things change? actually not much at all, except for one thing. you will notice that a category one hurricane now off the coast of north carolina and ocean city. that's a reduction in the speed. that's a reduction in the energy, also a reduction in the storm surge as well. some good news there. and by the time it makes its way on sunday afternoon, all the way to connecticut, it is just a tropical storm. now, is big tropical storm and a minimal hurricane are no different when it comes to storm surge,er especially one hurricane that's been in the water as long as it has. this storm surge could still be just as bad, even with a -- think about the -- with the reducing hurricane, think about how ka driven that had such a surge, especially for the areas east of new orleans. tt a category four surge are a category three hour cain.