Jersey Update .. GoodNight Irene Part Deux

It's almost 10PM Saturday night and the wind and rain are battering my cottage pretty hard right now, even though Irene has not hit yet. The outer bands she throws off are hitting us hard now and trees are bending to the ground, the surf is absolutely wild and the rain is torrential. How much worse will it get.
There are several deaths now, almost 8 last I heard including a few children killed by trees falling on homes.
I drained my ponds down to allow for more water, otherwise, if we flood I would lose the fish. Not sure that will work but, its what I have done.
Battened down the hatches and tied screen doors, put outdoor furniture inside the house, it looks like a storage unit in here. I don't have a garage.
Tornadoes now in this area. Wind picking up each hour.

They tell us the worst of this will hit in a few hours and on into the morning as we are hit by the center of Irene.
almost a million people are without power in Virginia alone and they expect we will also go out. I hope they are wrong since I do very badly in hot humid weather with fibro. The awful thick extremely humid air is sickening in hurricanes. You can smell the salt so powerfully in the air.
I am most worried about flooding as I am close to the bay and surrounded by creeks.
2 blocks from me had mandatory evacuation but our streets here were voluntary.
My block stayed, all of us as well as most around us. We have been through this before and we pray and hope for the best.
The roads by us are closed now, no way in or out. They do not want tourists coming down to South Jersey.

When Gov. Christie heard there were still some people right on the ocean, he told them in no uncertain terms to "get the hell off the beach". He really is a Jersey boy.
Will let you know what happens if I have power after tonight. I will be up all night long tonight for sure.
As you will see in this Good Night Irene video, I am not the only one who had this old song come to mind!