In the Caribbean, waves created by the winds of Hurricane Earl pounded the shores of Puerto Rico, St. Kitts, St. Martin, Virgin Gorda and Antigua. All the islands faced some flooding and have downed trees dotting their landscapes. Fortunately, however, they all dodged a direct hit and the damage is relatively minor compared to that which could be wrought by the storm’s 135 mph swirls.

Now, as the storm heads north, the $64,000 question (or perhaps more accurately, the $64 billion question) is whether or not the mid-Atlantic, or even the Northeast, can avoid a direct hit. In the video below, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate discusses the threat.

“History tells us that we have had very dangerous storms that have hit the Northeast before,” said Fugate. “As the Hurricane Center is telling everybody, from the Carolinas to Maine, you really need to pay attention to this storm and make sure you’re ready and have a plan today — you may not have time later this week.”

To help prepare, he suggests going to Ready.gov, and to put the severity of the threat into even greater perspective, he also discusses possible evacuations. “Hopefully, we won’t have to evacuate, but we need to be prepared,” he said. “What I tell people for this [Labor Day] weekend is ‘just be flexible’ until we see what this storm is doing. You need to have that flexibility in case your plans need to change.”

The second video, also from ABC’s Good Morning America, discusses the latest meteorological info, showing the potential tracks for Earl (and the looming storms Fiona and Gaston that may follow) as it moves north. One possible trajectory has the storm coming within 30 miles of the Carolina coast by Thursday.