Cape Hatteras, NC, Evacuates Ahead Of Hurricane Irene

'Ridiculous' Winds From Hurricane Irene Bear Down on East Coast

Via The Detroit News: N.C. island begins evacuations as Category 3 Hurricane Irene approaches

Evacuations began on a tiny barrier island off North Carolina as Hurricane Irene strengthened to a major Category 3 storm over the Bahamas on Wednesday with the East Coast in its sights.

Irene's maximum sustained winds increased to near 115 mph with additional strengthening forecast, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

The evacuation in North Carolina was a test of whether people in the crosshairs of the first major hurricane along the East Coast in years would heed orders to get out of the way.

The first ferry to leave Ocracoke Island arrived just before 5:30 a.m. in nearby Hatteras with around a dozen cars on board.

It won't be easy to get thousands of people off Ocracoke Island, which is accessible only by boat. The 16-mile-long barrier island is home to about 800 year-round residents and a tourist population that swells into the thousands when vacationers rent rooms and cottages. Tourists were told to evacuate Wednesday. Island residents were told to get out on Thursday.

So why is the evacuation of Cape Hatteras something I would blog about? I was there. On vacation. No more than 2 weeks ago!

UPDATE: Irene Prompts Hurricane Watch on N.C. Coast