Irene tore Sunday into New York, hammering Manhattan's skyscrapers with fierce winds and threatening to flood the financial district after killing at least nine people along the US east coast.

The first hurricane to hit the Big Apple for a generation swept in overnight, accompanied by lightning, reports of tornados and deafening rainfall. Wind strength grew and was forecast to cross the 50 miles an hour mark before dawn, then up to speeds of 80mph!

The city resembled a ghost town after 370,000 people were told to evacuate flood-prone areas, including near Wall Street and at Coney Island, and mass transport was shut down.

Subway trains, buses and the famous Staten Island ferry all closed Saturday, as did all nearby airports, the nation's biggest city is now a like a scarey movie.
Mayor Michael Blooming, told a press conference that running from the storm was no longer possible.

"At this point, if you haven't evacuated, our suggestion is to stay where you are," he said.
"Nature is a lot stronger than us."

Irene made US landfall at 8:00am. Saturday at Cape Lookout, North Carolina, near a chain of barrier islands and quickly was proved Deadly.

At least 9 people have died!
Saturday - in car accidents, by heart attack and by falling trees. In North Carolina, Virginia and Florida. The youngest victim, an 11-year-old boy, died when a tree crashed through his window in Newport News, Virginia.

President Obama, who cut his vacation short, visited the federal emergency management agency's operations center in Washington, where he said the east cost was in for a "long 72 hours."

Obama chaired a meeting at the National Response Coordination Center set up local hurricane-relief efforts.

"This is going to be a tough slog getting through this thing." Obama said during a video teleconference including senior federal officials and local goverment agencies.

This blog will carry on in Part #02.