Storm Surge

"According to New York City's Office of Emergency Management, the last hurricane to pass directly over the city was in 1821. The storm surge was so high that the city was flooded up to Canal Street." - Buzzfeed. Irene is now predicted to make landfall somewhere east of Queens. At high tide. Last night Mayor Bloomberg announced that any plan to evacuate NYC's Zone A would be made at 8am tomorrow. He added that city residents should expect that all mass transit (buses, subway, LIRR, PATH) will be out of service from Saturday evening until mid-day on Monday.

Irene Bonus Fun Fact: An MTA official speculated that heavy flooding "might drive millions of subway rats to seek higher ground." Oh, fantastic.