We have power, but 22,000 don't here in RI. One huge tree limb down in the back yard, from the swamp maple. Willy spotted it right away this morning, at their first potty trip, he promptly barked at it, knew it didn't belong there.

All 3 gates are now down at the hurricane barrier. One went down last evening about 8 PM, the other 2 about 5:15 this morning, and one pump is now on to move water out of the down town area of Providence, and out into the bay. Last time all 3 gates were down was 1991, for Hurricane Bob.

Oy!

It's a cat 1 hurricane, they have a tendency to hit the east coast every once in a while.

Is constant coverage to the exclusion of all else REALLY needed?

It's a rainstorm with high winds. The panic really isn't required.
Panic, no. Constant coverage, YES. Constant vigilance. keeping up to date, it quite important. Last time we had anything like this was 20 years back. This is NOT routine. The potential for problems is huge. Wind speeds have dropped to 75 MPH at the center, BUT the storm is stronger at 963 millibars (it was 950 - 951 for over 24 hours).