State officials are once again urging residents of eastern North Carolina to prepare for Hurricane Irene. Forecasters say the storm is likely to pass directly over the Outer Banks Saturday evening as a Category 3 hurricane. Governor Bev Perdue declared a state of emergency for all counties east of I-95 this morning. Perdue says federal agencies are now ready to respond to potential storm damage.
Bev Perdue: "We're ready. We have National Guard who are deployed, we have the Red Cross on the ground - they will do whatever we need to do - we have volunteers all over North Carolina who are ready to help, we have all the vehicles and all the supplies, so we are preparing as best we can."
A mandatory evacuation is in effect for residents of Ocracoke Island. Dare and Currituck Counties have asked visitors to leave today and will order evacuations for residents tomorrow morning.
