County officials order mandatory evacuation

We are aware that many of our readers were unable to access the online streaming of the Cape May County Office of Emergency Management's press conference regarding Hurricane Irene, so here's a quick update...

County officials have issued a MANDATORY EVACUATION of Cape May County for residents and visitors, starting immediately with the Wildwoods and other barrier islands.

A mandatory evacuation of all of Cape May County has been issued for tomorrow morning (Friday) at 8 a.m.

(Note: As of early evening, the individual towns of the Wildwoods have not issued mandatory evacuation notices. An update is expected after an emergency management meeting tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m.)

Earlier, Governor Chris Christie declared a state of emergency and warned that mandatory evacuations will be enacted if the state's warnings are ignored, or if the severity of the impending storm is upgraded.

Hurricane Irene is currently classified as a Category 1 storm. It has passed over the Bahamas, is approaching the North Carolina coast, and is expected to heavily impact the Jersey coastline on Sunday.