Hurricane warnings for the next 48 hours have been issued for North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, coastal Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
So far, eastern North Carolina has already seen three tornadoes in the past few days, and the majority of the state and areas of Maryland and Virginia are under tornado watches through Sunday.
Stacy township, on the coast of North Carolina, is seeing 93 mph wind gusts this morning.
For more on how Hurricane Irene is impacting the North Carolina coast and the surrounding area, go to ABC News affiliate WTVD-TV
More than 24,000 flights have been grounded across the nation. All airports in the New York area will stop accepting arrivals at noon today. The airports expected to be impacted the most are in New York (Newark, John F. Kennedy and Laguardia), Philadelphia, Penn. and Charlotte, N.C.
New York City Evacuations
Evacuations began Friday in New York City with the sick and the elderly.
For more on how Hurricane Irene is impacting New York and the surrounding tri-state area, go to ABC News affiliate WABC-TV.
NYU Langone Medical Center and the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Manhattan, two campuses of Staten Island University Hospital, and Coney Island Hospital have moved hundreds of patients to higher ground.
Today, around 370,000 people in zones the city has labeled A (closest to the water) and B (at sea level) have been ordered to evacuate. It is the first time New York has ever evacuated its residents because of a hurricane.
"It is better to take precautions and get out of the storm. Mother nature is much stronger than all of us," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg in a press conference Friday.
The storm is expected to weaken as it travels up the eastern seaboard, and may be reduced to a tropical storm by the time it reaches New York.
Residents are advised to stay indoors regardless of the categorization, however, because the storm will still be strong enough to flood heavily populated areas of the city. With a storm surge expected to reach above 5 feet, Battery Park in southern Manhattan will be underwater.
The rest of the city may not have to evacuate, but they will be virtually stranded. At noon today, all subways, buses and trains around New York City -- the world's largest transit system -- will shut down.
Once winds reach 60 miles per hour, the beaches, bridges in and out of Manhattan and major highways will be closed. In New Jersey, Atlantic City is closing its casinos, and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie emphatically ordered everyone off the beach.
"Get the hell off the beach in Asbury Park and get out. You're done. You've maximized your tan. Get off the beach," said Christie.
Source : ABC
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