People are dying. It's a hurricane. All hurricanes are a big deal, especially when they are bearing down on population centers comprising 60 million people.

They are also not entirely predictable, despite improved monitoring technology.

If the government low-balled the threat, there'd be a huge outcry. The media hypes everything for ratings.

Reserve judgment until Sunday when the damage assessments start taking shape. We're not supposed to see the worst of it until after midnight. Virginia is experiencing worse storm surges than expected.

A friend near Annapolis just texted that her power went out two hours ago and a tree just now fell next to her house. Going to be a long sleepless night for a lot of people around here -- especially east of DC toward the Chesapeake Bay and the ocean.