Outer Banks residents: Stop reading this and evacuate!

If you live in North Carolina's Outer Banks, you shouldn't be reading this. Hurricane Irene is now forecasted to upgrade to a category 4 storm by the time it slams into North Carolina on Saturday. Earlier, less severe hurricanes have wreaked havoc on the low-lying islands with fierce winds and massive storm surges, and if Irene strengthens as predicted it could become one of the worst storms in North Carolina history. Tourists and some residents are being urged to evacuate.

HATTERAS, NC (Catholic Online) - Hurricane Irene is now moving northward out of the Caribbean, but is still being fed by relatively warm waters off the U.S. east coast. As it moves north, it leaves terrible destruction in the Bahamas.

Preliminary reports indicate that nearly all of the houses on Acklins and Crooked islands have been damaged or destroyed. If Irene strengthens as predicted, the winds could be sustained above 131 MPH. 

On Wednesday morning, the first tourists and residents began evacuating the low-lying Outer banks islands at the request of local officials and common sense. Others who came to visit the islands turned back after hearing the news. Sustained, organized evacuations are scheduled to begin by 8 AM in Dare County, which is currently in Irene's direct path. 

The storm will not only affect the Outer Banks. Officials in Miami's National Hurricane Center have forecast the storm to cause damage along the entire east coast, all the way to Maine. Demonstrating the potential power of the storm, damage from Irene's winds could extend as far as 230 miles from the storm's center.

At this hour, Irene's track has moved slightly to the east, inspiring hopes that the worst of the storm may pass just offshore, but even if so, as a category 4, Irene will doubtless cause considerable devastation and disruption many miles inland, and most especially on the Outer Banks.

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