by pdillard | 25 August 2011 [caption id="attachment_577" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Hurricane Irene, Aug. 25, 2011 Intermediate Advisory, National Hurricane Center"] By Cmdr. Jason Spencer, Director for Administration, U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery Hurricane Isabel, the eighth hurricane of the 2003 season, made landfall along the coast of North Carolina as a Category 2 hurricane on the afternoon of Sept. 18, 2003, passing through the Washington Metropolitan Area during the evening and the following day. Results for the area were as follows: - Reagan National Airport clocked a two minute sustained wind of 45 mph, with a peak gust of 58 mph.? Andrews Air Force Base reported winds of 69 mph. - Nearly two million people in the area lost power.? Although 75 percent had power restored under two days, it took over a week to restore power to many communities. - The storm surge reached 11 feet in Georgetown, flooded Old Town Alexandria, and caused damage to over 2,000 homes in Fairfax County that were near creeks, streams, and the Potomac river. - Power outages to all four water treatment plants in Fairfax resulted in 1.2 million people being told to boil their drinking water prior to use. - Over 1,600 trees were downed causing extensive damage to buildings, wires, automobiles and several deaths. Hurricane Irene is fast approaching, are you and your family ready? For tips on how to prepare you and your loved ones, please visit: http://www.ready.gov/america/beinformed/hurricanes.html#link4 Thank you all, and stay safe! [vsw id="VcCZ-Olbd1Y" source="youtube" width="425" height="344" autoplay="no"]