The president said Wednesday night that an emergency situation exists in North Carolina, as he ordered federal agencies to help state and local officials handle any hurricane-related problems. The move also allows the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA to coordinate all disaster-relief efforts. While current forecasts indicate the brunt of the storm — now registering winds up to 140 miles per hour — would miss New York, experts unnervingly said that “even a slight shift in the storm’s predicted offshore track could put millions of people in the most densely populated part of the country in harm’s way.” [AP, Fox]
