3:11 p.m. Four people in North Carolina died Saturday as a result of Hurricane Irene, according to MSNBC, and President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in Maryland some nine hours before the eye of the storm is scheduled to reach Ocean City.
The Category 1 hurricane has caused flight cancelations and additional evacuations along the East Coast. It is sustaining winds as strong as 85 mph.
Obama’s declaration “authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts” for Baltimore, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s, Somerset, Talbot, Wicomico and Worcester counties and Baltimore City.
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In an interview with The Weather Channel, Gov. Martin O’Malley praised the federal aid to Maryland.
“This is a massive undertaking and people are really doing their jobs and doing it well,” O’Malley said on The Weather Channel. “Everything in the preparation phase of this has gone very well. … Now we’re awaiting landfall ourselves.”
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3:23 p.m. In Ocean City, ABC2News' Justin Berk said winds are sustaining at 35–40 mph.
"The wind was so strong, the carousel and the ferris wheel were actually turning by themselves," Berk said. "It was just eerie to hear the metal kind of squeaking by itself."
The meteorologist said he still expects most of Maryland to receive 2–6 inches of rain.
"It almost looks like the eye might be [moving] a little bit east," said Berk, who is working from the Hilton hotel in Ocean City. "The biggest [storm surge] will be in the lower portion of the Chesapeake."
Berk said to expect water to rise by as much as 4 feet in Annapolis.
"Winds are going to start increasing up there," he said. "You’re going to start seeing some pretty heavy stuff roll through up there at 5 p.m."
Wind gusts are reported as high as 62 mph in Virginia Beach, according to Weather Underground.