Preparations Hurricane Earl (2010)

1 preparations

1.1 caribbean
1.2 united states
1.3 canada

preparations
caribbean

hurricane earl moved away leeward islands on august 30

on august 27, france issued tropical storm watch french side of saint martin , saint barthélemy. next day, antigua , barbuda , netherlands antilles issued tropical storm watches antigua, barbuda, montserrat, st kitts , nevis , anguilla , sint maarten, saba , sint eustatius. hours later, of watches upgraded tropical storm warnings; tropical storm watch issued united states virgin islands. august 28, hurricane warnings in place areas between anguilla , montserrat; hurricane watches declared u.s. , british virgin islands puerto rico. earl moved closer northeastern caribbean, warnings extended westward through virgin islands.

during late morning of august 30, of hurricane warnings replaced tropical storm warnings; turks , caicos islands placed under tropical storm watch. several hours later, warnings antigua , barbuda discontinued. afternoon, hurricane advisories discontinued earl moved away caribbean islands. august 31, remaining advisories caribbean discontinued; turks , caicos placed under tropical storm warning. on september 1, government of bahamas discontinued advisories in relation hurricane earl.

beginning on august 28, local governments placed emergency agencies on standby possible damage hurricane earl. press releases made public in order give sufficient time preparations. following day, emergency shelters opened on anguilla, antigua, barbuda, montserrat, st. kitts, nevis , virgin islands. on st. kitts , nevis, robert l. bradshaw international airport , vance w. amory international airport shut down , scheduled re-open following day. emergency services placed on standby on anguilla, antigua , barbuda. prior earl s arrival in leeward islands, leeward islands air transport canceled 42 flights , region. v. c. bird international airport on antigua shut down on august 29 , set reopen after storm passes. although not in direct path of hurricane earl, officials in dominican republic prompted evacuations of coastal towns , canceled flights across country.

united states


this animation shows storm’s progress , transformation between september 1 , september 3, 2010.

as hurricane earl moved away eastern caribbean on august 31, nhc began issuing storm watches united states east coast. day, hurricane watch issued areas of north carolina between surf city , virginia border. tropical storm watch issued south of area cape fear. next day, hurricane warning issued parts of north carolina coastline between bogue banks virginia border , hurricane watch extended northward cape henlopen, delaware. further watches , warnings issued throughout day, covering increasingly large region of coastline. september 2, these advisories encompassed of east coast bogue banks, north carolina united states-canada border in northern maine. spokesman nhc, dennis feltgen, stated not since hurricane bob in 1991 had such large region of u.s. east coast been under threat hurricane. cape cod, massachusetts placed under hurricane warning time , remained in place until earl downgraded tropical storm following day. advisories gradually lessened in coverage storm moved away united states. last warning in northern maine remained in effect until morning of september 4 when earl approached landfall in nova scotia.

on august 30, emergency officials in massachusetts began early-stage emergency plans, ensuring communities had shelters, generators, sand bags , other disaster prevention materials. officials in new york , new jersey responded threat of earl. evacuation plans readied long island , new york city; emergency officers in new jersey discussed possibility of evacuating residents low-lying areas along coastline. having experienced fatality distant hurricane danielle earlier in august, officials in maryland took threat of earl seriously. estimated 250,000 people expected travel region labor day weekend, increasing risk of loss of life rip currents. daily conference calls between state officials began on august 30. in suffolk county , nassau county on long island, emergency officials prepared winds in excess of 40 mph (64 km/h) , warned evacuations possible. administrator of federal emergency management agency, craig fugate, cautioned earl s approach warranted reminder evacuation plans updated u.s. east coast, noting wouldn t take have storm come ashore somewhere on coast. message pay attention.

on august 31, mandatory evacuations began on north carolina s ocracoke island. don t remember last time there mandatory evacuation order island, stated commissioner kenneth collier of hyde county. mandatory evacuations issued hatteras island on september 1, total of 30,000 residents , visitors affected. on september 1, state of emergency declarations issued governors of maryland, north carolina, , virginia. naval station norfolk put under orders ready depart port within 24 hours if necessary. following day, governor deval patrick declared state of emergency massachusetts. nstar deployed crews michigan cape cod. ferry nantucket stopping service friday morning. chatham, massachusetts under voluntary evacuation order. several school districts in rhode island released students school on september 3, bristol-warren , cumberland school districts, closed schools in anticipation of hurricane earl.

president barack obama signed disaster declaration north carolina on evening of september 1. action authorized department of homeland security , federal emergency management agency coordinate relief efforts , makes federal funds available. officials in dare county, north carolina, issued mandatory evacuation orders september 2 visitors coastal county, including outer banks. mandatory evacuation extended residents in areas, including town of south nags head , hatteras island. dare county schools , courts closed september 2 , closed september 3.

canada

on september 2, canadian hurricane center issued hurricane watch areas in nova scotia between medway harbour , digby tropical storm watch edges of hurricane watch ecum secum , fort lawrence. later day, tropical storm watch expanded northward point tupper , new 1 issued prince edward island , parts of eastern new brunswick. on september 3, tropical storm warning issued areas between lismore , ecum secum prince edward island. following day, hurricane watch in nova scotia shifted include areas between ecum secum , point tupper , tropical storm watch in new brunswick discontinued. later on september 4, of nova scotia under tropical storm warning. these warnings later discontinued earl moved northward through atlantic canada; however, new tropical storm warning issued parts of newfoundland between burgeo , boat harbour. following storm s transition extratropical cyclone, warnings discontinued in canada.

earl predicted have 80% chance of striking nova scotia (60% chance hurricane) since end of august. enabled emergency preparations begin week before earl made landfall. on september 2, red cross placed on 900 volunteers on standby.

because anticipated landfall take place @ low neap tide , storm surge minimal, no mandatory evacuation orders issued, although marinas required boats moved safer mooring. tourists in area warned of impact of coming storm department of tourism, culture , heritage. virtually permanent residents stayed , prepared without electricity couple of days. while ferries in area cancelled, confederation bridge linking new brunswick , prince edward island not closed. however, high-sided vehicles , motorcycles barred crossing 6 hours @ height of storm.