Ocean City officials have enacted phase 1 of their emergency management plan, and are urging tourists to stay home this weekend as Hurricane Irene rushes up the East Coast.

City Manager Dennis Dare believes Irene could rival 1985’s Hurricane Gloria which decimated the Ocean City Boardwalk and was the last time the resort had to order a full scale evacuation.

However, Dare was quick to point out that people should already be planning their own personal preparedness plans for Irene, just in case the resort is forced to evacuate.  He said that decision could come as early as today.

“We are running out of time here, so we are meeting this afternoon, where we will likely be making a final decision”, he said.

Also included in Phase 1 of the emergency plan is the evacuation of the thousands of foreign students who are currently living and working in Ocean City for the summer. 

Dare says they are being instructed to gather at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center in mid-town Ocean City where they will be bused to nearby Salisbury where they will be picked up by Maryland State officials who will reportedly take them on to Baltimore.

Boat owners are being urged to remove their boats from the water at local marinas, and area stores are reportedly having trouble keeping emergency items like batteries, flashlights and bottled water stocked to meet the demand.