Hurricane Irene has sustained winds of 115 mph.
/ Courtesy NOAA
Update: August 26th
Mid-Michigan Red Cross workers are preparing to help with any devastation that might occur with Hurricane Irene.
Ryan Manz of the Saginaw County chapter told NBC25 that nation has requested about 400 people from our area to be ready to help.
Irene is just the latest natural disaster the Red Cross is responding to this year, and officials say they are already experiencing volunteer fatigue from the summer storms, flooding in North Dakota, Wildfires, and now hurricane season has just begun.
The Saginaw Red Cross currently has more than a hundred volunteers connected to its chapter, but with Hurricane Irene expecting pack quite a punch, they’re asking for more help.
If you can’t physically help in cleanup or rescue efforts, the group says they’re always in need of donations. You can find out more on how to help by clicking here.
In the meantime, NBC25's sister station, WPDE-TV, has set up a live camera watch on Myrtle Beach to keep track of Hurricane Irene. You can watch that in the video player above.
NASA has also released images from space of the growing storm. You can watch that below:
Just one day after an earthquake shook the east coast, residents are embracing for a massive hurricane.
Hurricane Irene is now classified as a Category 3, sustaining winds at 115 mph, according to The National Hurricane Center.
CNN’s meteorological staff says the huge storm is more than 800 miles across, and tropical storm force winds go about 200 miles from the center.
People in Nassau were boarding up shops and evacuating, in hopes to escape severe damage.
The storm is expected to move from the Carolinas northward. CNN experts say if the hurricane does hit land, it will cause “devastating damage,” and would have a “high risk of injury or death.”
