LGBT Resort Areas Evacuated for Hurricane Irene

As the East Coast prepares for Hurricane Irene, residents of some LGBT-popular areas are hunkering down and hoping for the best.

Rehoboth Beach, Del., residents have been ordered to evacuate by 9.a.m. Saturday, and the storm is expected to make landfall by Sunday around 8 a.m. Shelters are open in all Delaware counties.

Hurricane warnings have not been issued for Massachusetts yet, according to the Associated Press. Forecasters predict Irene to make landfall in southern New England Sunday. They say they are unable to determine where it would hit land first; forecasts show that could be anywhere between New Jersey and Cape Cod. The Red Cross is positioning emergency response vehicles across the state, including in heavily towns Northampton and Provincetown.

In New York, where Irene could make landfall Sunday as a Category 1 storm, evacuations have been ordered for nursing homes and hospitals in low-lying coastal areas like Battery Park, Coney Island, and Far Rockaway. Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency and officials issued a mandatory evacuation order for the 17 communities on Fire Island, the western half of the barrier island in the towns of Islip and Brookhaven, starting at 3 p.m. today.

"We are asking everyone to take the time, secure their homes, and then get off Fire Island well in advance of this storm and the potential destruction it may bring," Islip town supervisor Phil Nolan told the Long Island Express. Once the order takes effect, ferries will only allow homeowners to cross the Great South Bay to secure their houses. Ferries are expected to stop running between around 3 p.m. Saturday, although service may be cut off before then if the storm is expected to arrive sooner, officials said.