I'm hoping folks get through this hurricane as unscathed as possible. Looks like its a big one. If they tell ya to get the f*ck out of there and evacuate please do so. Everything is replaceable but you aren't.

I'm worried as I do have a couple friends who live on Long Island.

Yikes. Hoping the damage is low and any injuries are insignificant

Raistlin I'm from Long Island and I have family there, so I have been worried too. My brother got his boat in and the family household is well supplied with water and food. He is right in the middle of Suffolk county so hopefully no flood issues. Last hurricane I went through there knocked out power for a long while and thousands of upturned trees littered roads and properties. Im hoping for the best for anyone who has to deal with this destructive force.

I have family on Long Island as well. Here's hoping it weakens soon enough.

Yeah, I'm living through Irene....as I am typing this actually, it really isn't that bad, we lost power a few times, there have been nine deaths, only one of which I can say was not someone being stupid, a kid was killed when a tree fell on his house, blasted wind, I'm fairly certain that the 8 other deaths were people trying to watch this thing go by on a beach, the wind is really going to kill us, we'll be getting tons of trees down, there are already plenty of branches down, the worst part about this hurricane is the timing, it hit NY when it was high tide, made the flooding problems even worse, I personally am worried for my friends (and cousins) in Massachusetts because they are right on the water and according to storm tracker Irene's eye might just barely miss them

Hang in there Vrals. Sounds like you are playing it smart and safe. Got some pics from friends in Long Island. Huge tree branches did a number on their fence and hit the side of the house pretty good. Still waiting to hear from some others. Hope your cousin and friends are safe and sound.

I can contact them by plenty of means, fb/phone, so I'm not that worried. Its not that bad actually, its no longer a hurricane but actually just a tropical storm, its bad but as bad as it used.