hurricane irene

Whenever natural disasters strike, news stations often send out a few poor saps to report from the scene. With Hurricane Irene, we typically saw wind-whipped, rain-soaked correspondents in various locations talking about the storm’s fury. But if there’s an award for Most Deserving of Hazard Pay, it has to go to Washington, DC Fox affiliate WTTG’s Tucker Barnes.

Before weakening to a tropical storm, the first hurricane of the season hit the Eastern seaboard with torrential rains, strong winds and floods. Hurricane Irene made landfall on Saturday in North Carolina, moved northward along the coast then slammed into Little Egg Inlet, N.J., as a Category 1 storm. Despite predictions, Irene then lost steam as it lumbered toward New England.

Much of eastern United States is getting ready for the arrival of Hurricane Irene. More than 50 million people live in the projected path of the Category 2 storm, which is expected to make landfall along North Carolina’s Outer Banks on Friday.