Hoboken Preps for Irene

It might have been sunny, clear and breezy on Friday afternoon, but the anticipation of Irene hung in the air.

Hobokenites walking on Washington were talking about it on their phones. Others stopped in front of a flood map placed in front of City Hall . The city's leaders and emergency responders walked in and out of City Hall all afternoon.

And Irene isn't even here yet.

On Friday afternoon, as most people realized the severity of this storm, some residents were headed out of town while others said they would stick around. is supposed to hit Hoboken early Sunday morning and last until Sunday evening.

Although she said she initially planned to stay in Hoboken, 23-year-old Leah Gorham said, "I've just been convinced to leave."

"Oh yeah," Danielle Selleck answered when asked if she would skip Hoboken for the weekend. "I've been here when it rained before," she added, saying she didn't want to see a hurricane strike Hoboken.

Others aren't convinced they have to evacuate or simply don't know where to go.

"I'm staying," said Nandalal Rutchmansingh, 39, who has lived in town for 13 years. "I don't think it's going to be that bad."

Steve Brett, who has lived in town for 20 years, said he's staying because he doesn't know where to go, planning on spending the next few days in his apartment. "I think we'll just get flooding," he said. "High floods."

High flooding is exactly what city officials are fearing. If Irene comes in as a category 1 hurricane, 70 percent of Hoboken will be under water, according to the city's flood map. Irene could end up being the perfect storm with potential devestating effects on Hoboken. 

City officials expect power outages all over town, which could last for several days.

Bars are , at which point no cars will be allowed in the streets anymore. Local airports are closed to incoming flights starting at noon on Saturday.

Delores Cicala, 87, seated on a bench in front of City Hall, said she wouldn't be leaving town. "I'm not going to starve," she said. Cicala said she lives on the ninth floor of senior housing complex Columbian Towers. Although she has lived in Hoboken all her life, she said she has never seen a hurricane hit the town.

Other Columbian Towers residents said also that they wouldn't be evacuating.

Kelly Barrett, pushing a stroller with two young children, said she was headed to a hotel in Pennsylvania. But, she added, "If I wouldn't have kids, I'd stay."

Around five p.m., the chiefs of the fire and police departments, as well as the director of the office of emergency management and the head of the Hoboken Volunteer Ambulance Corps met in City Hall. Other city workers were working all through the night, removing trash bins and recycling bins from the streets in time for the storm.

A shelter will be opened in the Wallace School, starting Saturday morning. A command center has been set up in City Hall, where volunteers can start calling people as of 8 a.m. on Saturday.