NYC

Hurricane Irene is pummeling its way up the U.S. East Coast and is expected to hit North Carolina early Saturday, then continue all the way up to New York City and even Canada.

Scenes from before the storm strikes

For the first time, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has ordered a mandatory evacuation of 300,000 residents of the city's costal areas as Hurricane Irene barrels up the East Coast.

The eastern United States ramped up its alert on Friday ahead of Hurricane Irene and New York City ordered evacuations of vulnerable residents as the broad, menacing storm closed in on the Atlantic coast.

For the first time ever, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered a mandatory evacuation for residents of low-lying and coastal areas, in fear of the worst that Hurricane Irene's upcoming wrath can bring to the city that never stops nor sleeps.

Hurricane Irene is heading straight for the East Coast, prompting NYC to evacuate hospitals and nursing home in vulnerable areas Friday morning. The National Weather Service has declared a hurricane watch for NYC, Long Island, and Connecticut.

As Hurricane Irene continues to roar up the East Coast headed in the direction for New York City; New Yorker's embrace the calm before the storm and have taken to Twitter to share tips and express mixed feelings towards the severity of the looming threat.

The Category 1 storm with a wind speed of 90 mph coupled with heavy downpour is predicted to hit New York sometime Sunday. New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, said on Thursday that it was very conceivable that he will order a mandatory evacuation of all low-lying areas of the city by Saturday, reported the New York Daily News.

New York City residents who live in low-lying areas should voluntarily start moving out on Friday, before Hurricane Irene is expected to hit, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Thursday.

The last hurricane to pass directly over the new York, in 1821, caused tides to rise 13 feet in one hour, flooding all of Lower Manhattan up to Canal Street. According to official estimates, a storm similar to the great Long Island Express of 1938 would cause $40 billion in damage if it hit Long Island now.

New York is getting ready for Hurricane Irene, which is thrashing the Bahamas, moving toward the North Carolina coast, and expected to strike the densely populated U.S. Northeast Saturday and Sunday.

NYC workers did not hesitate to evacuate office buildings

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a Tuesday afternoon press conference that tremors emanating from an earthquake in Virginia did not cause any deaths, injuries or significant damage to city infrastructure and buildings.

Cell phone service across all of the largest wireless took a hit on Tuesday after the 5.8-magnitude earthquake shook in Virginia, sending tremors all over the East Coast.

Two nuclear reactors at the North Anna Station in Mineral, Virginia were stopped working, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said. The plant lost off-site power, but diesel generators are operating, a spokesman for the commission said.

People turned to social networking for comfort.

A 5.9 magnitude earthquake emanating from Virginia caused more anxiety than physical damage in New York City, where employees at City Hall returned to work after a brief evacuation.

A 5.9 magnitude earthquake emanating from Virginia caused more anxiety than physical damage in New York City, where employees at City Hall returned to work after a brief evacuation.

After a 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit central Virgina, sending tremors up the East coast from Washington D.C., to New York City and even Toronto, the USGS warned that the quake may be a foreshock with more to come.

A 5.9 magnitude earthquake has rocked Virginia, sending shock waves up the east coast, evacuating government buildings in Washington DC and shaking residents of New York City.

The 22 year old Harry Potter star, Daniel Radcliffe is presumably breaking many hearts with new photos that have spread over the Internet. He a pretty young woman were seen walking hand in hand down the streets of NYC. The girl is said to be Rosanne Coker, also 22, and the daughter of a painter and decorators daughter.