Last Minute Rush: Town Preps for Irene

Hurricane Irene hit the North Carolina coast Saturday morning and is now slowly but powerfully barreling up the east coast.

Gov. Deval Patrick yesterday joined several other states along the coast and declared a state of emergency for Massachusetts.

The National Weather Service has updated its forecast and now has North Andover and the rest of the Merrimack Valley under a tropical storm warning.

A tropical storm designation means the winds -- although strong -- will not be as severe as if the storm was an actual hurricane. But forecasters are emphasizing that given Irene's size and slowness, even downgraded tropical storm winds can do severe damage.

"For those under a warning, now is the time to rush to complete preparations for the protection of life and property," the NWS report said.

An especially real danger for North Andover is flooding -- something that, given the town's geography, local residents have seen here too often.

North Andover Emergency Management Director Jeff Coco said the town is staying prepared for worst case scenarios regardless of the strength of the storm.

"Were gonna ride this out," Coco said. "If we have to declare a local state of emergency, which is unlikely, we can."

And businesses are seeing a surge as residents prepare, too.

"We've been very busy," Brian Favor, owner of said Saturday afternoon as customers piled into his store. "We're selling a lot of batteries, flashlights, that sort of thing."

Favor said his store will operate normal business hours on Saturday and even on Sunday.

"Especially during a hurricane, we want to make sure people can get what they need," he said.

and were busy most of Saturday morning. And employees at said that business was busy Saturday as well.

Here are a few tips for

And be sure to stay tuned to Patch throughout the storm for continual local coverage on our live blog.