Hurricane Preparedness Tips: How To Prep For The Storm

As Hurricane Irene inches closer and closer to the U.S., officials up and down the East Coast are bracing for a possible hit from the storm this weekend.

Irene continued to pound the Bahamas with heavy rains Thursday morning and is expected to make landfall in North Carolina Saturday and parts of the Northeast on Sunday. New York and other Northeastern states haven't been faced with a hurricane since 1985. New York City mayor, Michael Bloomberg, said he would announce Friday if a mandatory evacuation was necessary for parts of the city.

Irene's projected path might not be set in stone, but it never hurts to have a plan in place in case the storm makes landfall.

Here are some tips from the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to ensure safety before and after the storm.

UPDATED:
Some of our readers have been offering helpful tips in the comments section below. We've added the best advice to our slideshow.