Gallery: Hurricane Irene batters New York, East Coast
By REUTERS, JPOST.COM STAFF
LAST UPDATED: 08/28/2011 10:30
Tourists, taxi drivers brave the strong winds, heavy rains as streets empty throughout Manhattan and surrounding areas.
Taxi speeds by on 42nd Street at Times Square Photo: REUTERS/Peter Jones
BATTERY PARK, NEW YORK – Lower Manhattan was almost entirely devoid of
people early Sunday morning as the much-anticipated Hurricane Irene
battered the city from the south.
Violent winds and heavy rain
swept through the empty streets of the Financial District which had been
evacuated by order of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg together with other
low-lying parts of the city because of the risk of flooding.
RELATED:Bloomberg evacuates 300,000 New Yorkers before stormEast Coast Jewish communities brace for Hurricane IreneAs
of late Saturday night, Hurricane Irene was heading north at a rate of
16 mph (25.75 kph) from North Carolina toward Virginia, exhibiting winds
between 39 mph (63 kph) and 80 mph (129 kph), a NBC affiliate station
in North Carolina reported.
The National Weather Service canceled flash flood watches in North Carolina counties at 8:19 pm EST, according to the report.