Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley said thousands were already without power in the hours before Hurricane Irene was expected to pass over the state’s coast at about midnight Saturday.
The governor said during a 9:30 p.m. briefing that 158,000 people were without power in Maryland. He said that as the storm descended in full force on the state, the outages would grow worse.
“We’re reaching a point though where emergency personnel … will have to come in themselves and will not be able to be out there,” he said.
Mr. O’Malley said earlier in the day at an afternoon news conference that most people had heeded calls to evacuate the popular tourist town of Ocean City by 5 p.m. Friday.
“Evacuations have gone very, very well,” he said.
After travel restrictions throughout the day, the Bay Bridge was closed at 7:35 p.m., Maryland Transportation Authority officials said.
Mr. O’Malley said the eye of the storm was expected to pass directly over Ocean City but that, fortunately, forecasts showed its arrival earlier than had been expected and hitting between high tides, lessening potential flooding.
The governor said the biggest concern was not the winds generated by the storm but the heavy rains, which were expected to swell creeks, streams and rivers.
Mr. O’Malley also praised the efforts of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and President Obama, who earlier in the day signed Maryland’s disaster declaration.
“We have had some outstanding cooperation and leadership from our federal partners,” he said.
Asked at the Saturday night news conference to evaluate the state’s performance so far in responding to the storm, Mr. O’Malley declined.
“We’re just now heading into the worst part of the storm,” he said.
• Matthew Cella can be reached at mcella@washingtontimes.com.
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