Irene

Well, my worst fear about this storm has pretty much happened, as I am due to evacuate my home before 5 PM tomorrow.  For those who are not familiar, I am on the East Shore of Staten Island, which is one of the boroughs of New York City.  I am a half mile from the Lower New York Bay.

Luckily, my grandmother lives nearby, outside of all evacuation zones.  So that's where we (including Marge and Layla) are heading.

While this evacuation is likely precautionary, I am taking it seriously and starting to round my things up.  Marge's important documents are all in my agility backpack already.  I have stocked up on food for both the cat and the dog, as well as cat litter.  We have tons of bottled water.  I am taking Marge's giant soft crate, my cat's carrier, as well as my spare wire crate with me.

We've experienced lots of bad storms here, but never storms severe enough to warrant the type of evacuations we're currently seeing.  I don't know whether I should be more worried about the wind or the prospect of flooding.

Several bloggers have my contact information, so rest assured that I will be in touch.

Good luck to all of you who are also dealing with this storm.