Earlier in the day, FEMA Adminstrator Craig Fugate and National Hurricane Center Director Dr. Rick Knabb briefed President Obama on the expected track for the hurricane and the preparations underway to provide relief efforts.

WHITEHOUSE: Update on Hurricane Isaac

On its current track, Hurricane Earl could approach the coast of North Carolina by late tonight or early Friday morning.

WHITEHOUSE: Press Briefing

The latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center says the track of the storm has shifted slightly to the west, making it a bit less likely the state will get hurricane-force gusts, but will still see high winds and a storm surge from high waves.

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The long-term forecast track from the hurricane center showed Katrina weakening and crossing the Florida peninsula Friday, then moving out over the Gulf of Mexico and sweeping north toward the hurricane-weary northern Gulf Coast.

CNN: Katrina hits Florida: 3 dead; 1 million in dark

Google has launched interactive maps to track the path of Hurricane Sandy and provide localised support information as it approaches the US east coast.

BBC: Hurricane Sandy tracked by Google

"The Google crisis response team has assembled a Hurricane Sandy map to help you track the storm's progress and provide updated emergency information, " wrote Google software engineer Ka-Ping Yee on the firm's blog.

BBC: Hurricane Sandy tracked by Google

The FEMA Administrator, Craig Fugate, and National Hurricane Center Director, Dr. Rick Knabb, briefed the President on the projected track and timing of the storm as well as steps being taken by the Administration to support potentially impacted states.

WHITEHOUSE: The White House

In an effort to help displaced hurricane victims and their families, ad hoc communities of Internet users are using mapping technologies from Google to track storm damage, analyze aerial photos and try to make sense of what little information is available.

FORBES: Magazine Article