As Hurricane Irene bears down on the East Coast today, I talked with a friend this morning who lives in the path of the storm and asked how things were there.
“I’ve been trying to get everything ready for when the hurricane hits,” she said. “I wasn’t that worried, but then the governor said yesterday that it was going to be even worse than [Hurricane] Isabel in 2003 — and that just scared me to death.”
Indeed, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell told reporters Friday to expect the worst:
“The storm surges, the flooding and the winds will be broader in scope than what we experienced [during Isabel]. So those who lived through that eight years ago in Virginia be prepared. It will likely be worse this time around.”
The television and online news people were keeping people worked up about the storm, too, with constant reports about how bad things might become and what people should do to prepare. Even though there’s absolutely nothing new about how to prepare for a hurricane, the news has been full of scary reports.
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