Hurricane Irene Update - August 25

Hi, it’s Craig Fugate at FEMA. We’ve just completed a conference call with the affected states along the East Coast, our FEMA regions and the Federal family of agencies that are getting ready for Hurricane Irene. We already have evacuations that are now taking place in North Carolina. We know that other states are considering that and it looks like the track of Hurricane Irene is going to have a major impact along the East Coast starting in the Carolinas of all the way up through Maine. We’re doing a lot of things to get ready to support the evacuations and the immediate impacts that we expect from Irene, but you need to do your part to get ready now and make sure you know what to do before Irene gets to your area. If you’re in an evacuation zone make sure you have your plan to evacuate and know where you’re going. If you’re not in an evacuation zone some of the things that we can expect from Irene is widespread and serious flooding as well as power outages across large areas. It may be too early to say if it’s going to be your home or your community but it’s never too early to get your plan. If you haven’t gotten ready go to ready.gov and start your preparedness today while you have time and if you’re on your mobile go to m.fema.gov to get updates on the storm and how to prepare for Hurricane Irene. Thank you.