Hurricane Irene, by the numbers, to date:
- Storm now measures 580 miles in diameter;
- At least eight dead;
- At least 900,000 customers have lost power;
- All 11 Atlantic City casinos closed — only the third time in history;
- The Schuylkill River is expected to crest at 15 feet on Sunday night — something that has not happened there since 1869;
- SEPTA is shut down;
- 375,000 residents ordered to evacuate from low-lying areas of New York City — only five previous hurricanes have ever tracked within 75 miles of the city since records have been kept;
- Five NYC area airports have been ordered closed: JFK, LaGuardia, Stewart, Newark Liberty, and Teterboro; Philadelphia’s too; 10,000 flights nationwide cancelled;
- Con Edison shut down 10 miles of steam pipes beneath New York City to prevent explosions should they come in contact with cold water;
- MTA shuts down all commuter, bus and subway lines in New York City (comprising more than 6,000 subway cars which normally carry 8.5 million passengers each weekday);
- Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will do same as of 8 A.M. Sunday morning.
I think anyone who still thinks Irene is overhyped can STFU now.
