Washington:
Bearing down on major US East Coast cities, including Washington,
Philadelphia and New York, Hurricane Irene knocked out power in
more than a million homes and forced millions off the New Jersey
shore alone.
Though weakened somewhat since coming ashore early Saturday near
Cape Lookout, North Carolina, Irene is continuing its relentless
march up north with sustained winds around 80 mph and extending 85
miles from its centre.
Slowly losing more strength, Irene which has claimed nine lives so
far in North Carolina, Virginia and Florida, is expected to remain
a hurricane until it once again makes landfall Sunday afternoon in
southern New England, forecasters said.
In Virginia, more than 600,000 homes and businesses were without
electricity, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell said. Officials
warned people to be prepared to be without power for up to a week.
More than one million people on the Jersey shore had joined untold
numbers of others from the Carolinas to New England in moving
inland or to higher ground, away from the storm's worst impacts,
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said.
New York, where the city ordered the unprecedented evacuation of
370,000 people from low-lying areas of all five of the city's
boroughs, including Queens, home to the largest concentration of
Indian Americans in the US, Friday residents are bracing for
Irene's fury as it slams the city Sunday.
The city's transit system, shut down Saturday, may not be fully
running again until Monday at the earliest, high-rise buildings
are being instructed to turn off elevators and utility ConEd may
have to cut power to Manhattan, Bloomberg said.
Authorities in communities across North Carolina, Virginia and
Maryland announced curfews. Some banned the sale of alcohol.
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter declared a state of emergency,
telling residents to be prepared to go without power for up to two
weeks.
Boston has joined New York, New Jersey and the cities of
Philadelphia and Baltimore in suspending all transit service,
including subways and buses on Sunday. Philadelphia International
Airport will remain closed from 10:30 p.m. Saturday until at least
4 p.m. Sunday.
(Arun Kumar can
be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)
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