With Mass Transit Shut Down, Transit Officials Monitor Possible Water Damage
New York City transit officials say they've finished an unprecedented shutdown of the nation's biggest system of subways, buses and commuter rails.
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New York City transit officials say they've finished an unprecedented shutdown of the nation's biggest system of subways, buses and commuter rails.
Con Edison says they don't expect to cut power before the storm hits, but flooding could bring a shutdown to areas including the southern tip of Manhattan and parts of the West Village.
Residents in coastal areas of Long Island are being told to evacuate their homes as Hurricane Irene makes its way up the East Coast.
Airlines are scrapping more than 9,000 flights this weekend from North Carolina to Boston, grounding passengers as Irene sweeps up the East Coast. There were more than 3,600 cancellations on Saturday alone.
The first rain and wind from Hurricane Irene arrived in New Jersey by midday Saturday, and by the evening,thousands of evacuees headed to local shelters to wait out the storm.
Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy wants drivers to stay off the roads. Officials are considering a traffic ban on state highways as Hurricane Irene barrels toward New England.
Like Irene, Hurricane Jeanne fell onto a landscape already saturated from previous heavy rain. We were not expecting to fight for our lives.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered the mandatory evacuation of all residents in the coastal areas dubbed "Zone A" and also extended the mandatory evacuation zone to include all of the Rockaways.
Hurricane Irene has robbed the Hudson Valley of a beloved summer experience and threatens a historic park that stretches over the river.
"During the past 12 years, the cost of living increased by 40 percent, eroding judicial salaries," said Vincent E. Doyle III, president of the lawyers' group. Yet "judges' salaries will have risen 27 percent over a 15-year period, far less than the projected inflation rate."
Nearly 270,000 New Yorkers live in the low lying areas most susceptible to flooding and wind damage. The mayor has to decided to get them out of their houses before buses, subways, and commuter trains shut down at noon Saturday, and bridges possibly close as well.
Hurricane Irene caused extraordinary disruption Friday as it zeroed in for a catastrophic run up the Eastern Seaboard. More than 2 million people were ordered to move to safer places.
"The most important bit of advice I can give to any of the 8.8 million citizens of this state is think -- don't react -- think. Think about what you need to do to protect your life and the life of your family," Christie said in a news conference.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has ordered a system-wide shutdown of the Metropolitan Transit Authority starting at noon Saturday ahead of Hurricane Irene. LIRR, PATH, Metro-North and NJ service will also be suspended.
Those most directly impacted include residents who live south of Sunrise Highway between the Queens line and Rockville Center, south of Merrick Road from Rockville center to the Suffolk County border and low-lying areas on the north shore.
