Irene Hurricane: Alert on U.S. East Coast

The U.S. east coast, from Florida to New England, is on alert as Hurricane Irene could arive there over the weekend, authorities of the U.S. Agency for Emergency Management (FEMA) warned on Tuesday.

The authorities also stressed that they are working with their counterparts in Puerto Rico to identify, mobilize and provide equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impact suffered by the island between Sunday and Monday Irene.

“It is imperative that residents of states that could be affected later this week (Irene) take this storm seriously,” said Craig Fugate, director of FEMA at a news conference.

The director of the National Hurricane Center, Bill Read said that “best guess” at the moment is that Irene will be on North and South Carolina on Saturday morning.

The experts warned that by the time Irene reaches the U.S. coast is likely that it rises to category four on the five measuring Saffir-Simpson scale.

(MS)

Source: AFP