Photos of evacuated areas and people preparing for Hurricane Irene, as it prepares to storm through the eastern seaboard from North Carolina, up to New York, Philadelphia and Boston.
A volunteer puts up a sign in a shelter center at Newcomers High School in Queens, New York August 26, 2011. New York City on Friday ordered the evacuation of more than 250,000 people and prepared to shut down its entire mass transit system, both unprecedented measures ahead of the expected battering from Hurricane Irene. REUTERS/Kena BetancurHurricane Irene
A pedestrian passes next to sandbags used to control possible floods at downtown Manhattan in New York August 26, 2011. New York on Friday ordered residents in low-lying areas to evacuate before the onslaught this weekend of massive Hurricane Irene, which churned northward along the East Coast. REUTERS/Eduardo MunozHurricane Irene
A pedestrian passes next to sandbags used to control possible floods at downtown Manhattan in New York August 26, 2011. New York on Friday ordered residents in low-lying areas to evacuate before the onslaught this weekend of massive Hurricane Irene, which churned northward along the East Coast.REUTERS/Eduardo MunozHurricane Irene
Police patrols an empty boardwalk after an evacuation in preparation for Hurricane Irene in Ocean City, Maryland, August 26, 2011. National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read said Irene, which will be the first significant hurricane to affect the populous Northeast in decades, would lash the Atlantic seaboard with tropical storm-force winds and a "huge swath of rain" from the Carolinas to New England. REUTERS/Molly RileyPeople, who did not evacuate in preparation for Hurricane Irene, ride past an empty beach down a boardwalk in Ocean City, Maryland, August 26, 2011. National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read said Irene, which will be the first significant hurricane to affect the populous Northeast in decades, would lash the Atlantic seaboard with tropical storm-force winds and a "huge swath of rain" from the Carolinas to New England. REUTERS/Molly RileyPolice patrol an empty boardwalk after an evacuation in preparation for Hurricane Irene in Ocean City, Maryland, August 26, 2011. National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read said Irene, which will be the first significant hurricane to affect the populous Northeast in decades, would lash the Atlantic seaboard with tropical storm-force winds and a "huge swath of rain" from the Carolinas to New England. REUTERS/Molly RileyPassengers wait to check in for their flights at the American Airlines terminal at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago August 26, 2011. Airlines canceled nearly 7,000 weekend flights as Hurricane Irene swept up the East Coast toward New York. REUTERS/Frank PolichPeople line up at Brown's Hardware in Far Rockaway, New York, August 26, 2011. New York City on Friday ordered the evacuation of more than 250,000 people and prepared to shut down its entire mass transit system, both unprecedented measures ahead of the expected battering from Hurricane Irene. The powerful and unusually large storm trudged up the U.S. East Coast on Friday, threatening 55 million people including more than 8 million in New York City, which was expecting heavy winds late on Saturday or early on Sunday. REUTERS/Allison JoyceThomas and Kristen Bradshaw work to secure their boat dock on Banks Channel as heavy winds and rain from Hurricane Irene move into Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, August 26, 2011. The United States urged 55 million people on its eastern seaboard to prepare for Hurricane Irene as the powerful storm packing high winds and heavy rain bore down on the North Carolina coast. Early into the storm, the dock sank under 18 inches of rising water. REUTERS/Randall HillCurious beachcombers check out the surf height as Hurricane Irene approaches in Wrightsville Beach, N.C. August 26, 2011. The United States urged 55 million people on its eastern seaboard to prepare for Hurricane Irene on Friday as the powerful storm packing high winds and heavy rain bore down on the North Carolina coast. REUTERS/Randall Hill
