NU Online News Service, Aug. 26, 8:58 a.m. EST
For those who held out on worrying about Hurricane Irene and were sure the storm would eventually fizzle—that does not look to be the case.
Millions of people and possibly trillions of dollars in property remain in Irene's path, and the uncertainty surrounding the predicted track of the storm is narrowing.
Hurricane Irene, a borderline Category 3 storm with sustained winds of 110 mph, is churning this morning about 500 miles south-southwest of Cape Hatteras, N.C., and moving north at about 14 mph. Its energy may be expanding outward.
Beginning yesterday, evacuations were ordered from North Carolina to Southern New Jersey and more could be coming.
In New York, evacuations have begun of hospitals in New York City and Long Island. The storm on Sunday could pass very close to, if not over, New York City as a weakening Category 2 hurricane (winds between 96-110 mph).
Downed trees, major power outages, and flying debris are expected. "Winds will have no trouble downing trees where recent flooding and record rainfall have saturated the ground in areas such as Philadelphia and New York City," says AccuWeather.com.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) says 4-8 inches of rain is expected to cause flooding in spots throughout the East Coast. Depending on the tide when the storm strikes New York and New Jersey, significant storm surge is possible.
Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, says this storm has a good possibility of being a multi-billion dollar event for the insurance industry. Industry experts have begun to discuss whether this hurricane—coupled with the many catastrophic events in the first half of 2011—will prompt rate increases.
The amount of property insured increases north of North Carolina. Only Florida exceeds New York's total of $2.4 trillion in insured value of coastal properties, based on a study by AIR Worldwide in 2007. Massachusetts (about $773 billion), New Jersey ($635.5 billion), and Connecticut (about $480 billion) are ranked fourth, fifth and sixth in the value of insured coastal property.
A standard homeowners' insurance policy does not cover flooding from storm surge. Additionally, the states in Irene's path allow hurricane deductibles in homeowners' insurance policies. A standard homeowners' insurance policy deductible is usually either $500 or $1,000.
This morning, the NHC changed several hurricane watches to hurricane warnings, meaning hurricane conditions are expected.
Hurricane warnings exist from the border of the Carolinas to Long Island, N.Y., where a hurricane watch is in effect into New Hampshire.
A tropical storm warning is in effect for the southern east coast of South Carolina, as well as the Chesapeake Bay.
Hurricane Irene is expected to make its way to North Carolina tonight and pass over the east coast of the state as a Category 2 or 3 storm.
AccuWeather.com says it is confident Irene will hit the Outer Banks of North Carolina on Saturday as a strong Category 3.
Currently Irene has weakened slightly. The storm's sustained winds of 110 mph make it a Category 2 hurricane. It will again reach Category 3 status if winds hit 111 mph.
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