Hurricane Irene: Ghosts (technically, video) of hurricanes past

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Looking for something hurricane-ish to watch -- but perhaps something that doesn’t suggest actual threat to loved ones? How about some video from the legendary Great Hurricane of 1938, aka the Long Island Express, aka The Yankee Clipper?

That storm hit Long Island in September 1938 before making its way into Manhattan and then farther up the coast into Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine and Quebec.

YouTube’s archives include two interesting compilations of footage from the time. The video above, uploaded by ‘moviemagg,’ simply presents the facts in all their incredible glory -- nail-biting images of houses being pushed off their foundations by waves, fishing boats being pounded against the shore, streets submerged by water.

PHOTOS: In the path of Hurricane Irene

In the video below, ‘Shock Troops of Disaster: The Story of the New England Hurricane,’ produced by the federal Works Projects Administration, an old-time announcer talks you through the legendary storm’s path from Florida, up to Long Island and into New England.

It begins, ‘Of all the signals of the sea, none turns the faces of hardy sailors more grim than the flags that spell ‘hurricane warning.’ ‘

High-drama narration and shocking images ensue.

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--Deborah Netburn