Be as safe and careful as you can. Many of us will be watching as much as we can and hoping for good outcomes. I suppose a few of us may pray, but you know what philosophers are like.
I saw my second home town, Galveston, on CNN today as an example of what a hurricane can do. Ike was so very destructive, and it sounds as though you may have something similar or even worse. It is frightening, and the devastation you see afterwards can be very depressing. Houston was without electricity for about 8 or 9 days. We weren’t even allowed on Galveston; I went there on the second day we could get on the island. Driving down the main street was like being in a funeral procession. You may be in for something not easy to imagine. I was in tears; it was hard not to be.
I hope you have read all the standard advice, and followed what you could. The only advice I hadn’t seen, and wished I had, was to charge up fully everything that you can. There are few things more vexing than to finally turn on one’s computer and see that you have little power left and no source of power anywhere near.
Colleges and universities may get power early; ours did. In addition, of course, you may be able to charge things while you drive about. It turns out that ipads are not entirely easy to charge, and yours may well require more power than a car can offer. Well, there have to be some drawbacks, in addition to the name.
If you are in an area that is not used to hurricanes and floods, do be prepared to discover that a lot of retrospectively stupid decisions were made, such as not providing for sealing off the elevator mechanisms. Or putting the generators in the basement. Builders who skimped may be revealed, as sides and roofs of new houses come off. You or other people in your area may be visited with equal stupidity such as, for example, being refused aid for homelessness because their second floor or higher apartment is in tact. This despite the fact that the elevators do not work and they have to use a wheelchair.
So we will watch and hope.
o
Feminist Philosophers 
I just saw a description of a family staying in their home on a barrier island, which is what Galveston is. They say they will be safe in a home with a cement foundation and cinder block walls. That reasoning leaves out the storm surge and what comes along with it. Much of Galveston was 8 or more feet under water and with the water came lots of snakes apparently. The snakes took up residence in our apartment house garage; I mean, one has to feel extremely sorry for many of the animals in a hurricane, but piles of snakes are sort of, well, awful.
Glad to see it is forecast not to be very different from Isabelle, although that did come with its (her?) share of damage for my region.
I just wanted to point out that not all those who face Irene are being treated as deserving of equal protection.
http://solitarywatch.com/2011/08/26/locked-up-and-left-behind-new-yorks-prisoners-and-hurricane-irene/
Yes, I hope folks stay safe and that the US government adequately responds. I’m stuck in Germany for one extra day due to the hurricane, but this is nothing compared to what folks on the ground are facing. It puts one’s own troubles into perspective.