MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

“Hurricane Irene is bearing down on the U.S. East Coast and has turned into a frightening storm, according to an astronaut on the International Space Station.

NASA astronaut Mike Fossum said that Hurricane Irene, like all hurricanes, looks ‘terrifying from above,’ and its evolution into a major storm this week has been unmistakable from orbit.

‘We saw a big change in the structure of the storm over the several days that we’ve watched her, especially yesterday,’ Fossum told SPACE.com today (Aug. 25) during a video interview from space.

Hurricane Irene is currently a Category 3 storm with winds of 115 mph (185 kph) that is battering the Bahamas. Space station astronauts and satellites have kept a constant watch on the growing storm.

The storm is expected to hit the North Carolina coast on Saturday (Aug. 27) and follow the coastline north, where it may make landfall on Long Island, posing a threat to New York City, according to OurAmazingPlanet, a sister site of SPACE.com.” Read more.

NYC mayor orders Zone A nursing homes to evacuate – “Mayor Michael Bloomberg has ordered nursing, senior homes and hospitals in Zone A low-lying areas to evacuate beginning Friday. He asked these facilities and hospitals to coordinate evacuation efforts with health officials. The mayor at a press conference Thursday said Hurricane Irene appears to be heading toward eastern Queens, New York. Bloomberg says shelters will open for residents at 4 p.m. Friday. He also announced that the emergency command center had been activated.” Read more.

Hurricane Irene: As many as 200,000 evacuate in North Carolina – “For thousands of tourists in the barrier islands off North Carolina, the threat of Hurricane Irene has just cut their vacations short. On Thursday, state officials ordered tourists to pack up the sand toys and abandon the beach rentals. Residents have been asked to find a safe spot farther inland as well. Local news reports pegged the number of evacuees — tourists as well as residents — at 200,000, although Ernie Seneca, a spokesman for North Carolina Division of Emergency Management, said he was unable to confirm it. It did not surprise him, however.” Read more.