earthquake in jan. the storm surge destroyed the dock. today the community is celebrating. we're joined from santa cruz where it looks a lot nicer than it did just a few months ago. >> reporter: it certainly does, jessica. when we first arrived here this afternoon, udock was empty. you can see it's almost completely full. people were so excited to get their boats back to their home dock for the first time since a s tsunami destroyed it in march. >> one, two, three. >> reporter: this is more than a ribbon cutting for a new dock. this is a welcome home for an entire neighborhood. in march, a tsunami evicted the waterside community of udock destroying ten boats and damaging many more. many were not ensure insur insu leaving owners in limbo. >> your boat is worth 9 grand,

going to be 10 grand to fix it, do you fix it? >> reporter: udock is not in limbo. the project was completed in record speed. >> the stsunami was a tron transformative i vent for this harbor. there has not been a project this big since the harbor was built years ago. >> reporter: the new udock won't age, weather or break like the old docks. >> this dock will fair much better. it's been designed and built to current standards. it has the flexibility associated with the plastic lumber product and has structural members and more flotation than the old system. >> good to see you, man. >> reporter: scott summers is considered the unofficial mayor of udock. his yacht suffered damage in the tsunami. it was the loss of his community that was harder to accept. >> it's a great community. we've been here for six years and it just -- everybody gets along. it's a community.

we have parties. we have movie nights. where we hoist a sail and project a movie on to the sail. >> reporter: they nestle in udock, finally able to anchor at home. so you can bet there are going to be a lot of celebrations out here tonight. now, the tsunami caused $22 million damage to the harbor and work here is not over. now, work to replace the next dock over begins. reporting live from santa cruz, mary ann fabro, nbc bay area. >> thank you. coming up tonight at 11:00 we're going to take an emotional journey back to japan. what a san jose woman who survived the earthquake and tsuna tsunami. see what's left of the town she calls home and why she feels her work there isn't over yet. that's tonight at 11:00 after dateline. to developing news. you cannot get to yosemite from highway 140 tonight because a

wildfire has closed the road east of meraposa outside the national park. park officials say anyone visiting yosemite should use 121 or 41 instead. the 3,000 acre blaze was started by a motor home yesterday. it is burning on the sierra national forest land. not within yosemite's boundaries but very close. the terrain is making it tough for firefighters to get a handle on the blaze. campgrounds at cedar lodge, merced have been evacuated. others in the area could also be closed if this fire gets any bigger. well, it appears your tax dollars have been paid, paid for a state worker to hob nob at the golden globe awards. those are findings from an audit on state employee waste. the report detailed there are 5 $51,000 in spending by a mental health executive saying going to the golden globes and concerts was a way for him to schmooze celebrities and ge them to sign up for public relations

campaigns. his case, one of the most egregious of seven the auditor focused on. another, a psychologist at a prison. >> he was leaving an hour every day for a five-year period that we looked at and was also using state equipment, computer for his own business. >> the audit showed that psychologist wasted more than $212,000 in state money. this twice a year audit has turned up more than $30 million of waste since it was launched 17 years ago. the nfl's chief of security and san francisco's chief of police met today to discuss issues after last week's violence at the 49ers/raiders game. both will be at the stick for the game against houston. numerous fights broke out in the stands last week. one man was beaten unconscious in the stadium bathroom. and two more people were shot in the parking lot following the game. so this weekend, no tailgating

once tomorrow's game begins. you won't be able to get that last beer during the fourth quarter. also be forewarned there will be several dui checkpoints set up nearby. the two men convicted of killing an oakland journalist because of a story he was writing will never likely see freedom again. a judge handing down multiple life sentences today for a series of killings that stunned the bay area and the nation. nbc bay area's jodi hernandez was in the courtroom as the case came to an emotional conclusion. she has the details. >> i'm just glad everything is over with right now. it's been a very long and hard -- a very heart-bearing on the entire family. >> reporter: chauncey bailey's family is relieved the two man convicted of murdering the oakland journalist in 2007 will never be free again. former your black muslim bakery leader usef iv and antoine mackey got life sentences without the possibility of parole for killing bailey, who

prosecutors say was targeted because of a critical article he was writing about the bakery. >> i would hope that the message is that there's nothing you can do to kill a story. i mean, a story is going to come out. that's what the freedom of speech, that's what the freedom of press is all about. >> reporter: the men also got life sentences for killing oakland chef, michael wills. a man prosecutors say came under fire simply because he was white. bay and mackey listened without emotion as bailey's ex-wife tearfully told them her son must now grow up without a father. and as will's mother described how she's constantly haunted, imagining what her son was thinking as he tried running for his life. >> my client still proclaims his innocence. he contends he did not order anybody killed. >> he has not admitted these claims and said he's not guilty of these climbs. >> reporter: despite their claims of innocence, both men will likely never taste freedom

again. the victim's families say now they can finally move forward. >> chauncey is no longer with us here at this time, but he's above us looking down on us. saying that we did a very well thing, justice definitely was served. >> reporter: in oakland, jodi hernandez, nbc bay area news. richmond police are investigating the death of a mom in what could be a home invasion robbery. it took place at around 4:00 this morning on moran avenue on 32nd street. a gunman walked into a home, started opening fire killing a woman and critically injuring her son. two other kids in the home at the time were not injured. police detained the than in the area and are looking for another man for questioning. a strange twist, the woman killed in the attack was robbed at gunpoint last week. at this point police don't think the crimes are connected. tomorrow marks three months since the disappearance of nursing student michelle le. the 26-year-old disappeared may

27th during a break from her job at kaiser permanente in hayward. her car was found inside with some blood. le's family has been relentless in their search holding out hope she'll be found alive. even though hayward police classified her death as a homicide. tomorrow's anniversary from 3:00 to 6:00 relatives and friends will release balloons in hayward. dozens of people escaped serious injury in today's derailment of the california zephyr which travels from emeryville to chicago. the train struck a large crane in southwest nebraska. passengers said it appears the crane was being used to demolish a nearby silo. the impact forced two locomotives to roll over on their sides. all of the passenger cars luckily stayed upright, though. a few of the 175 passengers were taken to the hospital with neck and back pain. none of the injuries turned out to be life threatening. transportation officials are now investigating the accident. amtrak put the passengers on buses to try to get them back to their destinations.

coming up here at 6:00, a live team coverage of hurricane irene continues. with a look at the preparations all across the east coast including the unprecedented move taken in new york. plus -- >> reporter: hurricane irene may be thousands of miles away but it's already being felt here at ffo. coming up in a live report, we'll tell you how many flights are already canceled. >> thank you, alice. the friendly skies get a lot more high-tech today thanks to a silicon valley gadget. and on the satellite we're watching low clouds showing up in bright white off the coast but take a look at the green in the lightning bolts. not too far away. we have thunderstorms moving up out of southern california. some of this may try to spill closer to the bay area as we get your weekend started. we'll have a look at changes in your weekend forecast coming right up.

some 6 o million people up and down the east coast are bracing for hurricane irene tonight. rescue crews from the red ross in california are on their way there. category 2 storm's winds and rain already being felt on the outer banks of north carolina. in the north, 2 million people in coastal and low lying orders have been ordered to evacuate. hurricane warnings are posted from north carolina to new york and watches and warnings are posted for new england. new york has ordered more than 300,000 people who live in flood-prone areas to leave. and public transit inside new york city is scheduled to stop service at noon tomorrow. and this is the first time that the transit system has been shut down because of weather. broadway will also shut down. all plays on saturday and sunday night will go dark. we have live team coverage tonight. our meteorologist is tracking the hurricane. nbc's jay gray is braving the conditions in north carolina for us. we'll get to him in a morning. we begin with nbc bay area live at sfo with passengers already

feeling the impact. already getting tough to get out tonight, isn't it? >> reporter: more than a dozen flights from the east coast to sfo have been canceled because of hurricane irene. airport officials say it's only going to get worse this weekend. hurricane irene may be thousands of miles away, but she is already packing a powerful punch at san francisco international airport. >> so pretty scary. we'll see what happens. >> reporter: scared passengers try to touch ground before the hurricane does. >> my daughter just had a baby so i'm hoping i'll get to see the baby over the weekend. >> reporter: already several flights into sfo from jfk, newark and philadelphia have been canceled. sfo spokesperson mike mckaren anticipates all flights to and from the northeast will be grounded by noon tomorrow. >> there's not a lot you can do. mother nature is always going to win the argument. we have to be flexible and just wait out the storm. that's all you can do.

>> reporter: mckaren says passengers could be waiting for days. >> four, five days, maybe even a week to get everyone rebooked just because this is a very busy time. >> reporter: with more than 65 million people trying to get out of irene's path up and down the east coast, the ripple effect could reach far beyond airports. eileen's son, ray, is on a cruise. >> we're traveling to rochester, new york, but when we're not worried about flying but we're worried about our son who's on a cruise to the bahamas. so they had to miss a day or two in the bahamas and hurry back to baltimore. >> reporter: in new york, it's the first time part of the nation's largest city is being evacuated. and never before has the entire mass transit system been shut down. so even if passengers make it to the big apple before the powerful storm hits, they could be stranded there. >> i'm heading to connecticut which means i've really got to thread the needle and get out as quickly as i get in to new york if i'm going to get home.

>> reporter: and in the last hour we've also gotten words flights from sfo to jfk and boston have been canceled tonight and likely travel across the country will be impacted by the storm so over the next few days if you are flying anywhere it is best to call ahead before coming to the airport here. live at sfo, nbc bay area news. >> here's a look at nags head, north carolina. see the size, the powers of the wave. it's expected to intensify with each passing hour as the hurricane moves in. nbc's jay gray joins us from kill devil hill, north carolina, part of the coast where irene is expected to make landfall tomorrow. you've covered a lot of hurricanes before. how does this one feel as it comes toward you? >> reporter: it's building, jessica, no question about that. it is a storm of a magnitude they haven't experienced along the east coast in quite some time. we're feeling some of the rain and wind from the early feeder bands of irene.

take a look out across the dunes and sand. the surf is building as well. right now the waves cresting 5 to 6 feet. forecasters say that will double before it's all said and done here. we do expect hurricane conditions in this area by the end of the night. moving into tomorrow morning when the storm will make landfall. look, there's a lot going on along the outer banks. let's take a look now at atlantic beach. you can see the waves building there as well. this video just a bit earlier. and everyone along this shoreline bracing for impact and understanding that the magnitude, just the massive size of this storm, is going to cause some very serious problems. the wind's one thing. then we'll have a storm surge and we'll have that driving rain for 10 to 12 hours. understand that this is an area that floods when they get heavy rains on a normal time. now with this wind-driven rain, they're going to see massive flooding. they're going to see water in places they haven't seen it for decades. jessica, they're very worried

about what that water may do. >> jay, you and i have both been in the hurricanes. there are always the people who say i've been through this before and don't leave. how have people heeded evacuations there? >> reporter: yeah, you're absolutely right. you know the drill. but unfortunately there are some here who are doing just that. what they told us today, we talked to several, they just said i don't want to leave my home. if something happens i want to be able to take care of it right away. one of the big problems is there are only two ways in and out of this island. those bridges will be closed and many fear they'll with closed for more than a week. that's too long, they say, to wait to get back to assess the damage at their homes. now, local authorities are doing neighborhood checks or were earlier today. what they told those who are deciding to stay, they can't force them to leave, what they told them is, you're on your own. we're not sending officers out to get in harms way until the storm has cleared and gotten past. so that's the situation with those who have decided to stay and now that window of opportunity to leave has just

about slammed shut, jessica. >> a difficult situation to be in. thank you, jay. stay safe. let's turn things over to rob miada. is it expected to stay on the course it's on right now? >> from 24 hours ago to right now the path hasn't changed a lot. the storm has weakened a little bit. we're talking a category 2 hurricane, winds close to 100 miles per hour. you saw jay gray in kill devils hill, south of norfolk and virginia beach. see the outer bands stretching across the outer banks. the eye wall of the storm shows up offshore. this is where the hurricane-force winds, winds of over 75 miles per hour, right down here near the eye, which will continue to drift off to the north, the northeast as we head into tonight. very likely north carolina will be the first of two landfalls with this particular hurricane. the first coming in later tonight and tomorrow morning. then eventually paralleling the coastline. then making a beeline, it looks like right for long island and cape cod as we go through the weekend. the latest we have, storm now turning a bit to the northeast at 14. a path that will take it, as jay

gray mentioned, over the outer banks of north carolina. likely as a category 2 hurricane. winds close to 100 miles an hour. as it approaches long island, moves off to the east of philadelphia, this is where the storm surge or the waltter pili up and the perpendicular coastline along long island, cape cod, we could see a surge coinciding with high tide. this is a worst case scenario. if the two things come together, the inlets or bays could see a storm surge or rise in sea level close to ten feet in some spots. you're looking at almost 15 inches of rain in the inland and hilly terrain in the coastal northeast and winds going from a category 2 eventually to a category 1 hurricane crossing over long island it looks like early sunday afternoon. just an incredibly large system, too, almost 500 miles wide. hurricane-force winds extending almost 80 miles away from the storm's center. back to our weather in the bay area. a typical spread of our summer microclimates. it kind of warmed up in the east bay valleys.

we saw highs in the mid 90s. now we're starting to see the cool down as a sea breeze takes hold. 60s already in oakland. look at the fog going past the camera lens there in san francisco. now down to 61 degrees. we will see the low clouds surging inland thanks to the fact we have the strong case of ocean air-conditioning. tomorrow morning once again some misty skies, but here is the change. we've been watching it on our own radar. a bit of a tropical connection to our own weather moisture which is drifting up out of southern california. may impact some of our mountain areas. right now it's just the fog we're watching in san francisco. same story santa cruz mountains. no tropical air just yet. see all the lightning to the south and east. some of this into san los abisbo county and santa cruz county and areas around the diablo range tomorrow may see clouds buil buildsibuilding up. showers over the sierra. that's where we'll see the best bet of thunder. the high country, a good bet of seeing thunderstorms. tonight, low clouds and misty

skies. cool temperatures. calm weather for much of the bay area. the item to watch tomorrow, the coastal rains south of santa cruz. wouldn't rule out a stray thunder shower. if you can head to moral bay, some of that may move out of the south. not much of a warmup around the peninsula. look at that. the east bay, 680 toward pl pleasanton. warming up, mid to upper 90s. cooling as the sea breeze comes back tuesday into wednesday. good taste of summer here. as we can see, a little too toasty for inland spots. >> as we get close to september, right? always happens that way. thanks, rob. still ahead at 6:00, a safe driving throwdown. parents and teenagers going head to head to see how distracting texting behind the wheel really can be. just ahead, does facebook really own the internet? the question over its allegedly staggering milestone.

plus -- >> i'm scott budman. silicon valley technology in the cockpit. coming up, how a 1 1/2 pound a r wld of f et make a difference on your next flight.

you've certainly seen ipads on planes before. the guy sitting next to you had one the last flight you were on. they can also make your flight safer. nbc bay area tech reporter scott budman logs on in the cockpit. >> the winds change, a traffic change, they want you to jump to another approach, we're going to program it in the aircraft in the flight management system and pull it up immediately on this type of device. >> reporter: it's a device you already know.

heck, you probably fly with one. an apple ipad. now showing up inside airline cockpits and making the friendly skies a whole lot more high-tech. >> the ability to pull up, type in the identifier and go directly to it instead of having to pull out the 10, 12, whatever number of charts you need to get to where you're going to go. >> reporter: this is a united airlines cockpit. united says replacing 38 pounds of paper each flight with a 1 1/2 pound ipad can eliminate 16 million sheets s of paper a ye. by getting rid of all that weight, the airline will save 326,000 gallons of jet fuel a year. it's silicon valley nohow helping pilots be efficient. >> aviation is interested in things to reduce loads, reduce weight, make things efficient. a small device, whether a smart phone or ipad can take the place of big computers or stacks of paper, that's a good thing. >> reporter: as long as the

screens show this and not angry birds, it should be smooth sailing with a high-tech boost to the environment. in san jose, scott budman, nbc way area news. facebook's reach around the world is evident when you consider the amount of page views it reportedly got in june alone. the widely popular social networking site received a trillion page views during that month. yes. 12 zero zeros. yahoo! ranked third. internet research company come score desputs google's findings claiming facebook received less than half a trillion page views in june. still ahead here, putting texting to the test. what really happens when parents and teens hit a driviing course with the phone in their hand.

a group of teen drivers

discovered the dangers of texting and driving in oakland today. the driving course didn't seem to easy when the young drivers were force to navigate through cones steering with one hand and using their cell phone in the other. distracted driving is the cause of a large percentage of car crashes each year, many linked, to, yes, texting and driving. >> where people embrace the idea that not only should they learn to eliminate distractions behind the wheel but they need to share that with their friends and colleagues. >> when they were done the drivers acknowledged that if the cones had been other cars or other people, it would have been very, very bad. remember, it's illegal to text and drive. don't do it. brent cannon joins us to let us know what's coming up at 7:00 in half an hour. >> sentencing date for the killers of chauncey bailey. how fellow bay area journalists vow to keep his story alive and bring his killers to justice. car crashes, the number one

killer of american teens. we have a look at the human and monetary cost and what parents can do to keep their children safe. other victims of september 11th. people have faced discrimination ok.ayince that day. ok e you then. a special edition of "nightly news" is next. we'll see you then. view erest in this is so question figure edview edviewerinterest in this is so high. covernd so intense folks could use the extra coverage and extra information. again, we're at the maniskwan river inlet, point pleasant beach new jersey where it's a late summer night.

see the jet skis behind us. people taking advantage of relatively calm waters. it won't stay this week. one of our -- the most interesting stats from our coverage tonight, this is an estimate. 46 million of us will experience winds over 50 miles an hour before this hurricane is over. gives you some idea as to the scope of this storm. let's go to our friend, the hurricane expert at the weather channel, veteran meteorologist brian norcross. somebody said the storm is roughly the size of the continent of europe. and while people watching your coverage, we all become expert at terms like a collapsing eye wall and food news increasing pressure at the center of the storm. as you pointed out in our last half hour, the problem is, it is still such a massive storm that is carrying with it so much precipitation that if these models come true, we're all in for a thumping from this. >> not just precipitation, brian, also just the amount of energy that a big storm puts in

the water. we saw it in ike in 2008 that we had this tremendous water pushed up on the shore all the way north to louisiana. and that's what's going on and it has begun significant beach erosion already reported in south carolina. and georgia. as this storm has gone by. take a look at the radar now. now it's getting close enough we can see it by land-base radar. there is the center of the storm. this is where the strongest winds are. strong winds occupied that much distance there and you can see that's half of the state of north carolina. and that's what's moving north into the carolinas. so as you see, the famous cone that we've been looking at forever, shows it in the vicinity of cape hatteras. tomorrow the center of it coming ashore in the afternoon. and then moving up the coast. but the cone just talks about the center. so if the center is near atlantic city, that circle i drew is something like that. it's half of pennsylvania and

the whole storm is powering the water toward the coast. and that's why there is such a risk, exactly where you are there on the jersey shore, and all the way along the atlantic coast. then it moves up and gets new england as well and that very heavy rain effects all the way up into canada. so this is a whole east coast situation. one thing at the coastline. that's the ocean coming in. another thing inland. that's the heavy rain. and the power outages and everything that goes with that. brian? >> brian norcross who hasn't been able to reach into his bag of tricks for anything that's going to kill this storm or move it out of the way. we'll keep talk to you. we want to go to where brian was talking about, outer banks of north carolina. mark potter living proof that the outer bands of the storm are already starting. though, mark, the storm center, of course, as brian pointed out, is still an event that isn't due

where you are almost first light tomorrow. correct? >> reporter: that's exactly right, but we are starting to feel the first of the heavy rain bands here now. the wind and the waves are also starting to kick up. see them on that pier behind me. we're told we're going to have gale-force winds tonight, hurricane-force winds tomorrow. the biggest concern here, brian, is for the storm serge and the prospect if the eye he was talking about goes to the west of us we could have heavy surf coming in on both the eastern shoreline and the western shoreline meeting in the middle causing a lot of damage to roads and potentially even homes. that's why emergency managers here are urging everyone to get off this island. but unfortunately they say there are some locals who are refusing to go. they're going to stay and take that risk, brian. >> and, mark, while the locals have seen higher winds and bigger storms in terms of the energy, they have not seen a kind of storm mass as big as this. >> reporter: exactly right. and they have not seen that problem like they're talking here. if that were to happen, where

the waves would come in from both sides, that is what has scared some oldtimers actually we talked to. they said, we've weathered other storms but this is the one that bothered us and some packed up and took off. we saw them go. that's the reason they gave for it. >> all right. mark potter on the outer banks of north carolina. mark, thanks. as i said we're in point beach, new jersey, president pleasant beach at the river inlet. a place on this shoreline that any veteran of this shoreline knows well. and to look at it tonight it is an otherwise beautiful late s e summer evening. we have guys on jet skis and families with small children patting around in the tidal pools. but the problem is these looks don't count for anything because it's about to go south. in a big hurry. with us now, the man in charge of emergency preparation and dealing with all of this on behalf of his state, governor of new jersey chris christie. governor, do you feel that your warnings and some of them have been very full throated as late

as this afternoon? have been heeded? i, for example, can't remember when the garden state parkway is heading one direction. the contra flow is under way tonight starting at about this point in the state going north. >> you know, brian, listen, i think we still have work to do in getting folks to heed the warning. you know new jerseyans are tough and they're hard edged. and they think they've seen it all before. but they haven't seen anything like this in 60 years, brian. so i'm going to continue to say to the folks, especially along the jersey shore where you are tonight, tonight is the time to get out. the storm is going to hit here tomorrow. it's going to hit with great force if all the predictions are correct and we need to preserve human life at all costs, brian. we need people to get off the jersey shore. >> and governor, the place where you were vacationing with your family, long beach island, as you know cut in half in 1944.

a lot of the towns up and down this shoreline that you and i are very familiar with, having grown up here, have seen huge damage over the years. do you really think we're talking about 3 to 6 foot standing water above street level and communities cut off with this storm? >> brian, that's what we're hearing from the national weather service. the predictions we're getting is 3 to 7 foot storm surge. we're talking about a very wet laugh couple of weeks of august which is going to make conditions more difficult. lot of rain yesterday. a lot of rain about a week ago. so yeah, we're very concerned about it and we know folks have seen a lot in new jersey before. but if this storm turns out to come onshore the way it's predicted, this is something we haven't seen in my lifetime or yours here in new jersey. >> how are you on the supply chain? not to get too local, but my

local golf station no more than a mile away from here ran out of gas. when you see the big signs and cones at the pumps, that makes your heart skip a beat a little bit when your job is to get west or north but get out of here. >> listen, we're working closely with the fuel merchants association of new jersey to make sure we get fuel to all the places on the shore so people can get gassed up and go to another place with that higher ground. and i think with few exceptions, brian, those things will be taken care of. some will be taken care of tomorrow morning. we're closing these places off in terms of letting traffic in except for emergency vehicles. and we consider those fuel delivery vehicles, emergency vehicles for filling up those gas stations so people an fill up their own tanks and get away. so there will con to be fuel deliveries to the jersey shore up and through probably tomorrow afternoon so that we can get folks gasoline so they can get off. if they have enough to get off the barrier islands, brian, they're going to find plenty of

gas stations up and operating on the mainlands here as well. >> all right. governor, i'm sure we're going to ask to talk to you as you deal with this storm over the next few days. good luck in dealing with the huge matter of real estate up and down, north to south along the shore of new jersey. governor chris christie, thank you very much for being with us. >> brian, thank you. good luck to you and your family as well. >> all right. thank you, governor. and one of the many worries when a storm like this hits is getting in touch and then staying in touch with loved ones. every time we've had anything approaching a national or regional disaster, it becomes issue number one. if you are relying on your cell phone and just your cell phone, you are probably going to have problems in the storm zone. our report tonight from nbc's kev kevin tibbles. >> reporter: we're a cell phone nation.

when natural disaster threatens, can we rely on them to keep us in touch? >> the phone call is not going to go through. >> reporter: in north carolina, 19-year-old shanese thompson worries about contacting loved ones. >> probably my mom because she freaks out. to let her know i'm safe. >> reporter: there are as many cell phones in america as there are people. 303 million. 8 million in new york city alone. and today 27% of households only use cell phones. but when dangerous weather hits, cell phone towers can topple. >> cell phone towers are structures. they're on buildings, on poles high up in the air. they're everywhere. they can get knocked off. >> reporter: in hurricane katrina, 1,000 transmitters were damaged. just this week, when an earthquake shook the east coast, millions temporarily lost service, affecting emergency response teams. >> millions of calls all at the same time. the towers simply can't handle it all at once. they get crushed, jammed up and stop taking calls. >> reporter: have a backup communication plan. keep your cell phone dry in a

plastic bag and have an alternate way to recharge the battery like a car charger. in an emergency is there a smarter way to move your smart phone? >> one smart way to use it outside of the normal calling is text messaging. it uses less capacity on the network which then frees up resources for our local police and fire. >> that's the plan to let someone know i'm safe. >> reporter: and while phones may be down, the internet would be working. send an e-mail to let loved ones know you're okay. kevin tibbles, nbc news chicago. >> so don't make fun of that old kitchen wall phone at your parent's or grandparent's house. when we come back, the race is on across about 20 states now to stock up on everything from food to batteries to diapers.

we're back. we have talked about the rush to get out. thsh we're back. we talked about the rush to get out. the rush is also on to buy and be prepared. at food stores and lowes and home depots, from the charlotte area in north carolina all the way up to the tiniest inner city food stores in new york and beyond to new england, the same thing is happening at stores. michelle franzen's in asbury park with she's witnessed some of this. michelle, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. that window of opportunity to stock up here in new jersey and all along the east coast is closing fast before hurricane irene arrives. people trying to stock up on all the essentials today. whether they're hunkering down at home or in a hotel. and certainly milk, water, bread and batteries are all disappearing from the shelves in stores all around new jersey as well as in other states.

the shoprite in as swrn bubury shipment of "d" batteries used to power flashlights didn't make to the shelves. it was the same scene at hardware stores as people stocked up on flashlights, tapes and other supplies. store managers are expecting last minute deliveries and will do the best they can to keep stores stocked. pharmacies are seeing a rush as people with medical needs try to get last minute prescriptions filled. emergency crews are urging people to get food and water, enough for three days, maybe even seven, brian, to be prepared for what irene brings. >> michelle franzen in asbury park where it's been a long time since they had to deal with a bona fide hurricane. saying nothing of new york city, the folks who are great experts, they'd rather not be, are the folks in the outer banks of north carolina. they will tell you the tried and true rules of the road and

getting out. getting up and out before one of these arrives. nbc's carey sanders is with us from atlantic beach, north carolina, tonight. carey, good evening. >> reporter: well, good evening. you know, it's mostly empty here now. the mandatory evacuation order went in for coastal north carolina and the veterans, as they left, were sharing some advice with their neighbors to the north who have never been through this. it's exhausting, but why bring in the chairs, that potted plant or the umbrella? >> this is flying debris. this is one of the most dangerous aspects of a hurricane. >> reporter: liz arnold and her buddy mary catherine benson grew up with the yearly hurricane menace. what do you tell people who are scared? >> you should be scared but you need a plan. get ready to get out. putting up shutters only works if you put those on every single window in your house. the reason you're doing it is to prevent the wind from rushing in

and potentially taking your roof off. if you haven't covered every window, then it's very possible that's where those hurricane-force winds will enner. >> got to get out of here. >> get fwas. get everything. >> reporter: why that rush to get gasoline? when the power goes out after a hurricane, and it will, there's no way to pump gasoline for your car. >> you never go through new york city without at least having over half a tank of gas because you can get stuck in a traffic jam and not have enough fuel to get out. >> reporter: or enough fuel to run a generator either. why fill the bathtub with water? when the power goes out and your toilet won't flush, grab a bucket, fill it with water, hold it waist height and poor. it's a manual flush. why did rick buy enough water to last a family of five three weeks? experience, he says. >> you need to be prepared. you need to prepare like the worst is going to happen just in case. if nothing happens, you haven't

lost anything. >> reporter: and what will not work after the hurricane passes through is your credit card because the power will be out. so don't forget to stop by the atm now. there still is time. one other tip you've heard a lot about the flooding threat. don't ride this hurricane out in your basement. find an interior room in your house that has a load-bearing wall and no windows and ride it out there. very often, brian, that's in the bathroom. >> carey, that means you, too, it's time to get up those stairs. see you during our coverage of this storm. being prepared never hurt anybody. it's very true. when we come back, a look at the lessons history can tell us about what might be fixing to happen here over the next two or three days. happening here over the next two or three days.

we're back live tonight. an in the projected path of this storm. and people always measure hurricane by the past, storms with big, important names or the year they hit. of course new york city isn't under a hurricane warning every day of the week, it is tonight. nbc's rehema ellis is with us from lower manhattan, battery park, an area where they tell me, rehema, if these projections of a storm surge come true, you would be covered in water if you were standing there at the height of the storm. >> reporter: it's true, brian and it's something that all of us are thinking about now. but here in new york city, far from the tropical waters that fuel hurricanes, people tend to think they're immune. not so. hurricanes do happen here, but

not that often. september 1985, hurricane gloria was one of the most destructive storms of the season. >> hurricane gloria is moving on the east coast tonight like a monster out of a science fiction film. >> reporter: taking aim at the new york metropolitan area with 100-mile-per-hour winds, damaging homes, downing trees and electricity lines. ron noon worked for long island's utility company and spent three weeks restoring electricity to the 750,000 people who lost power during the storm. >> it got kind of hairy, people got a little bit -- it brought a side of the people that you didn't expect. >> reporter: gloria was the first hurricane to hit new york in more than 20 years. in 1960, hurricane donna slammed into the city. >> major breaks in the city's subway system strands hundreds. >> reporter: there was an 11-foot surge in new york harbor, damaging boats and transportation throughout the city was brought to a stand

still. the storm's impact was felt throughout the region. >> atlantic city. >> reporter: and then there was the infamous hurricane of 1938, the long island express. that powerful storm killed ten people in new york city. headlines captured the travel. >> at one point the winds were above 120 miles an hour. it changed the landscape of long island. >> reporter: but the actual eye of a hurricane hasn't passed directly over new york city since, get this, 1821. that storm caused the 13-foot storm surge, which means the area where i am right now was completely under water, the fear is it could happen again. >> boy, rehema, those pictures are hard to look at. let's just hope something comes along and changes the path of this thing. rehema ellis in lower manhattan. we'll be back with more of our

cover roage in just a moment. [ female announcer ] what's so great about jcp cash? no exclusions! with jcp cash, earn ten dollars off when you spend just twenty-five storewide. and unlike other stores, we don't make you come back to save. get ten dollars off with no exclusions! we make style affordable, you make it yours! jcpenney.

no exclusions! with jcp cash, earn ten dollars off when you spend just twenty-five storewide. and unlike other stores, we don't make you come back to save. get ten dollars off with no exclusions! we make style affordable, you make it yours! jcpenney. we're back from the jersey shore and if you go out here on the water and go north, you would run into jim cantore in lower manhattan, he's part of the massive weather channel team covering this storm. and, jim, provided, you don't see anything to affect these models and it will come in the way it was predicted. what's happening here sn? >> reporter: some of the best technology has been put in place. watching the storm impacting the outer banks, as you can see as we go through tonight and tomorrow morning, working its way up through the delaware

coast coast, the jersey shore going to take a major hit, especially if it hits around high tide. and new york city, as we watch people dealing with many, many trees and power lines which will be crippled for up to a week's time here. this is a multihazard hurricane, it always looked that way, and even though it did not intensify today as it could have, it still poses many problems. back to you. >> jim, we'll be talking many times over the coming days and a reminder about my friend jim cantore, all of the good people at the weather channel, both on the air and behind the scenes, they're the very% in the busine -- the very best in the business at what they do and you cannot miss with their coverage all night long and through the weekend. and don't forget the coverage on our entire nbc network. we'll all be on the air throughout the day. for us, for now, that's our friday night broadcast, thanks for being with us, i'm brian

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