Town Prepares for Irene's Arrival

As Hurricane Irene North Andover officials are preparing for whatever may come.

"Were in really good shape," North Andover Emergency Management Director Jeff Coco said of the preparations. He added that he will be in touch with state and federal emergency agencies to monitor the path of the storm.

As of Friday morning, Irene was racing toward the Carolinas with winds of 110 miles per hour. The hurricane is expected to reach North Carolina's shore Saturday and then barrel up the coast toward the northeast.

The National Weather Service on Friday issued hurricane watches and warnings for the entire east coast, including a hurricane watch for coastal Massachusetts. North Andover was under tropical storm watch but is close to the hurricane line, due to its proximity to the North Shore.

"At the local level, we've touched base with police and fire departments as well as DPW," Coco said. "All the catch basins have been cleaned out. There's concern about possible limbs falling, something we don’t have much control over."

The town, under advisement of Emergency Management, can declare a local state of emergency if needed, but Coco said that is very unlikely.

"We're gonna ride this out," he said. We’re moving in the right direction. We're trying to be as proactive as possible here, but some things are just out of our hands."

Governors in New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Connecticut and Rhode Island have already declared a state of emergency.