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Obama warns Hurricane Irene will be 'historic'
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CBC News- Hurricane Irene has weakened slightly but still poses such a threat to a large stretch of the Eastern Seaboard that U.S. President Barack Obama is calling the storm "historic," and urging people in North Carolina and New York to prepare for the worst.
Obama addressed the nation from his vacation home on Martha's Vineyard, Mass., on Friday morning as the storm was heading toward the United States, where a hurricane warning has been extended north to New Jersey.
"I cannot stress this highly enough – if you are in the projected path of this hurricane, you have to take precautions now … we all hope for the best but have to prepare for the worst," he said after a briefing by top federal officials.
"All indications point to this being a historic hurricane," he said. "If you are given an evacuation order, follow it.
"Don't wait, don't delay."
Obama also urged people to make plans, including having enough food and other supplies, and to know their evacuation routes. He will follow through on plans to leave the island retreat to return to the White House on Saturday, the day the storm is expected to pass through the Washington, D.C. region.
The warning area now extends from North Carolina's coast up to Sandy Hook, N.J., just south of New York City. A hurricane warning means hurricane conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area within 36 hours.
Rain from the storms outer bands has already started to hit North Carolina, one of several states to declare a state of emergency. State officials are urging residents to leave coastal areas before powerful wind, rain and waves lash the coast.
Irene has been downgraded to a Category 2 storm, with maximum sustained winds of over 175 km/h, according to the latest briefing by the National Hurricane Center, which stressed that Irene is "taking aim" at the East Coast.
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