I think you're being a bit stingy giving just a 6 without the loop - i'd give it a 7 even for the first landfall.

Here's some footage from the first passing:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6psoZ2Lweo

Coming at night complicates things a bit - apart from being more difficult to get around, you can't really see the full effects of what's happening.

Off the topic - pretty decent earthquake tonight just off the coast from us. Reminded me of what they feel like in Australia - a kind of distant rumbling that sounds like thunder and then you could literally feel the shockwave approach and then it hit with one big shudder. Only 4.6 but the epicentre was just a couple of k out to sea from here.