new york, the city that never sleeps, very much asleep. most people not adventuring out into the rains, a few brave cab drivers, that's about it. good morning, everyone, i'm alex witt at msnbc world headquarters. we have hurricane irene making landfall along the jersey shore where it crashed ashore near the little egg inlet. at least ten deaths are blamed on irene, four million remain without power this morning. let's look at new video we're getting in from wnbc, there have been a partial roof collapse at an apartment complex in long branch, new jersey. the only good news, no reported injuries thus far. though fire crews in the area have responded to a few fires in the area overnight. fortunately they were able to put them out. let's update the latest watches and warnings from nbc meteorologist jeff ranieri. what do you think people should be on the lookout for as the storm moves north? is it winds, is it rains, is it flooding or all three? a trifecta? >> it is all three, but it depends where you are. if you're in new england, massachusett

york city, new york city needs to take seriously and indeed it does and it's my impression. this is a storm that will carry water up against the coastline. we'll have those winds. i think it will be tropical storm if not category 1 storm surge, if it weakens it will be less. it strengths it will admonish. the big point of this and what i want to say is based on the track, track is responsible for the prep regulates. the track is responsible for the evacuations and the track is responsible for the coverage. our job is to make people aware of what the outside possibility is with a storm like this and get them ready to survive it. if this storm were to turn or dissipate or fall apart, fine everybody is okay. that's what matters. it's getting their attention and getting them ready for this storm. i think this storm will hold together in a very powerful form for this area. not something they see and deal with and roll and flood and take a lot of power with it. it will be a real problem over the weekend. >> the key question i guess, lots of people on twitter very worried, unnerved

still ahead, bracing in new york city. the hurricane is already a historic event, the first ever mandatory evacuation order in effect for parts of all five burrows of new york city. we're going to take a look at the rare times the northeast has take an direct hit from a hurricane and what kind of impact that has had coming up. >>> hurricane irene is expected to make its first landfall along the east coast of the united states in north carolina. our state spokesman says he is concerned about the eastern half of state that it could affect 20 counties, 3 1/2 million people in north carolina alone john zarrella is with us from atlantic beach. >> reporter: 7:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, if the eye crosses us here that's the time the center of the storm is expected to get here. so just after first light. prpgss they're taken, not a lot of people have put up shutters or boarded up. we did see some. most of the people here at least a good percentage of them did decide to leave. others said they were going to go ahead and stay. mandat

that is the zone of new york city. we're talking lower manhattan, places like staten island, coney island, where there could be flooding. and so they evacuated those hospitals. wolf they got the e-mail from mayor bloomberg's office yesterday morning and were told by 8:00 friday night, in other words about 12 hours, you need to have your patients out of there. and i must say, i watched the evacuation from from one of them, and it was quite orderly. they were bringing people out in stretchers. they were bringing people out from the intensive care unit. they were bringing premature babies out in those little isolettes and bringing them to other hospitals. as you can imagine, this is difficult for the hospital. also traumatizing for the patients. you know, obviously they're already sick, and now they having to to see another hospital. and we caught up with one woman whose brother has a brain tumor. and he was about to start a brand new therapy to get rid of the cancer when he was told that he would have to leave the hospit

i have not ever seen these models go over new york city like this. but if you get street level, down toward the big empire state building here, you can look above the sky and some of these forecast models would take the center irene directly over new york city. >> i'm always worored about storms. this going to go through one of the most populated areas on the east coast. we're very concerned. >> reporter: concerned about the very big cities. 4.5 million in boston. 6 million in philadelphia. and 19 million in the new york metro area. >> what we have to do is assume the worst, prepare for that and hope for the best. >> reporter: but if the storm continues on its current path, some 2727000 new yorkers will be required to evacuate storm night. the elderly and those living in the most prone areas to flooding. the city has boats and helicopters ready to rescue the stranded and is preparing to shut down the city's subway system, the large nest the world, if need be. >> new york city is surrounded by water. boston is on a shoreline. incredible waves, 20, 25,

public transportation in new york city including the metro and buses have come to a halt as new york city prepares for this dangerous and possibly destructive hurricane parts of the city was was filled with crowds of people as you saw officials evacuating new yorkers from parts of areas that were deemed extremely dangerous for the first time in history the new york city mayor ordered mandatory evacuation of what he called the low rise areas these are areas all throughout new york that are very close to the water and it is estimated that more than two hundred thousand new yorkers will have to evacuate their homes and go to shelters close to seventy shelters have been set up in new york city in preparation for this hurricane hurricane irene it's also been recommended to anyone that lives above the tenth floor to a vacuum leak from their building this storm is expected to hit the city by nine pm with wind gusting anywhere between forty and eighty miles per hour u.s. president barack obama has issued a state of emergency for new york meaning that new york will receive federal funding oba

public transportation in new york city including the metro and buses have come to a halt as new york city prepares for this dangerous and possibly destructive hurricane parts of the city was was filled with crowds of people as you saw officials evacuating new yorkers from parts of areas that were deemed extremely dangerous for the first time in history the new york city mayor ordered mandatory evacuation of what he called the low rise areas these are areas all throughout new york there are very close to the water and it is estimated that more than two hundred thousand new yorkers will have to evacuate their homes and go to shelters close to seventy shelters have been set up in new york city in preparation for this hurricane hurricane i read it's also been recommended to anyone that lives above the tenth floor to a vacuum wait from their building this storm is expected to hit the city by nine pm with when gusting anywhere between forty and eighty miles per hour u.s. president barack obama has issued a state of emergency for new york meaning that new york will receive federal funding o

that was 300 miles from new york city. the storm was on shore for 300 miles and windows were knocked out well north of there. it was always possible for the same type of damage to happen in new york city. it was just a sheer stroke of luck that it didn't do that. >> well, chad, again, thank you for your sterling work on this. i'm sure that contributed to many people getting to safety when they needed to. i appreciate that. i'm sure many people do. >>> new york city's mass transit system shut down completely the day before irene hit. was that politics ahead of safety? joining me is a woman who may be the next mayor of new york. city council speaker christine quinn. you have heard the debate today. i have to say from where i sit, in the end, people are complaining about having their lives markedly disrupted -- >> from an officially point of view we had to make decisions based on what we were hearing from the national weather service and other hurricane and governmental experts. remember, we're talking about new york city her

york city between now and sunday evening if those areas get to light it friday new york city michael bloomberg the first time in history issued a mandatory evacuation of certain parts of new york city three hundred seventy thousand people live there all these evacuation zones a lot of people chose to not move chose to stay in their homes but overall there is a feeling of anxiety taking over not just new york but all the surrounding states we did get to speak with some people down who were heading to the stores to buy up supplies saturday here's a little bit of what they have to say i love. my whole life this is the only real one they really had a major evacuation for so here's the nose of the no we don't. the one thing i'm scared about is like going outside and being like tons of water like hurricane katrina that to me the public transportation system in new york city has also been shut down and that includes the trains the process is this point the truck went are moving and everyone is just bracing themselves for the storm. reporting for us there now you are with our team and coming

in new york city are closed. washington, philadelphia, and boston are handling some flights but airports are expected to see cancellations tomorrow during the brunt of the storm. a big effect at sfo appears to be on international travelers who have to fly threw east coast hub. this couple has to be in barcelona on monday to get back to work on tuesday. >> we came here to the airport to change our flight, maybe flying to barcelona through another airport. >> jeanie of san jose and her daughters were going to spend a few days in new york after their european vacation but got a seat to the bay area in the nick of time. >> called her name. almost like winning the lottery ticket. >> joined greats are parked around the airport. it will be at least another day before their airborne. >> tomorrow we may see some depart tours, although we have seen 30 caps laces -- cancellations for tomorrow. >> oakland international cancelled two jet bliew flights -- jetblue flights, and an incoming flight from jfk has been cancelled, and

we go to nbc's steve handelsman in new york city. >> reporter: starting the cleanup. this was central park. new york is draining tonight. rhode island is taking stock. >> it's not as bad as we expected. it's much better. >> reporter: irene was a full fledged cat 1 hurricane. this was long island this morning. >> pandemonium pretty much. kind of crazy. >> reporter: at least 15 people were reported killed from florida to new england, many by falling trees last night and today. flooding extended far inland. this was near philadelphia and some rivers are still reported rising. now, many of the millions who evacuated want to see if there's damage. asa lowe in new york city. >> they said there was limited damage and power outages. i don't know what to believe. >> reporter: charlie jones in north carolina. >> they won't let us back in. you have to have a reentry pass. >> reporter: with power out to 800,000 homes in maryland and more than half a million in north carolina and pennsylvania, many people are not being allowed home. the feds expect second-guessing. >> a lot of peo

and a new york city michael bloomberg for the first time in history issued a mandatory evacuation of certain parts of new york city three hundred seventy thousand people live there all these evacuation zones and that those evacuations began on friday evening and continued on through saturday into sunday up until this point and those evacuation zones include five hospitals nursing homes so people literally had to go to shelters a lot of people chose to not move chose to stay in their homes but overall there is a feeling of anxiety taking over not just new york but all the surrounding states as as this hurricane hurricane irene is moving in we did get to speak with some people that work heading to the stores to buy up some flies on saturday little bit of what they have. everything out there possibly pushed everything up in the garage . got plenty of food they were prepared. my whole life and this is the only real one they really had a major evacuation for so. you know something that we don't know the whole thing i'm scared out of like going outside in. tons of water like hurricane katr

second hit will be around new york city. and a scientist will be here to give us an explanation for what that means. and word out of new england. boston's public transit city will be shut down. and all day tonight and tomorrow and monday through the evening rush. historic emily and that is emily. it is irene. why i want it to be emily is beyond me. times square. no body. beautiful thing. love it. [ whistle blows ] oh! [ baby cryg ] ben harper: ♪ what started as a whisper every day, millions of people choose to do the right thing ♪ slowly turned into a scream ♪ there's an insurance company that ds that, too. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? look at all this stuff for coffee. oh there's tons. french presses, espresso tampers, filters. it can get really complicated. not nearly as complicated as shipping it, ough. i mean shping is a hassle. not wh priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. that is easy. best news i've

here's what's important about new york city. in addition to the fact that they're waiting for irene to come ashore later tonight, five minutes from now, mass transportation throughout new york will be shut down. that includes long island railroad, metro north railroad, all subways, all bus service. anything that has public transportation to it will be shut down. if you need to use public transportation to evacuate, you better already have done it or get in your cars and get out. thanks for joining us, everyone. uh, forgot jack's cereal. [ jack ] what's for breakfast? um... try the number one! [ jack ] yeah, this is pretty good. [ male announcer ] half a day's worth of fiber. fiber one. [ jack ] yeah, this is pretty good. or creates another laptop bag or hires another employee, it's not just good for business -- it's good for the entire community. at bank of america, we know the impact that local businesses have on communities, so we're helping them with advice from local business experts and extending $18 billion in credit last

>well, you know, let's take new york city. this is a home community that has been through the terrorist attacks but we've also been doinging a lot of planning up there, with the mayor's team and the state team about hurricanes. and so a lot of people may not realize this but city of new york has been doing a lot of preparation and planning for hurricanes. and now they're implementing those plans. so while they have not had a lot of hurricanes they've been really working hard to get ready for one. >> let me ask you finally and briefly about another big concern is the power grid. the outages that are expected. how does that work. is that all left to the power companies or is there a coordination among them and state and federal agencies? >> we work together and our lead agency for that here at the federal level is the department of energy which leads our emergency energy group. but most of it is going to be the private sector restoration with some of the government doing that but we do work as a team. what we're doing is bringin

>> well, you know, let's take new york city. this is a home community that has been through the terrorist attacks but we've also been doinging a lot of planning up there, with the mayor's team and the state team about hurricanes. and so a lot of people may not realize this but city of new york has been doing a lot of preparation and planning for hurricanes. and now they're implementing those plans. so while they have not had a lot of hurricanes they've been really working hard to get ready for one. >> let me ask you finally and briefly about another big concern is the power grid. the outages that are expected. how does that work. is that all left to the power companies or is there a coordination among them and state and federal agencies? >> we work together and our lead agency for that here at the federal level is the department of energy which leads our emergency energy group. but most of it is going to be the private sector restoration with some of the government doing that but we do work as a team. what we're doing is bringin

by the time it actually hit new york city? >> correct. it would run all the way over new jersey. now, look, we're talking 50 miles one way or the other. that's 30, 35, 40 hours away. if this is over new jersey, the entire time, this storm will lose some power. if it's just offshore, anderson, it still could be that cat 2, 2 1/2, i don't think 3, because the water's colder up here. but it would not lose as much energy as it would if it would just run over new jersey the entire time. i'm talking between atlantic city and princeton of the and run on up the turnpike. that would lose a lot of energy. it would steal a lot of energy, because the eye is not over water. that's the potential there. there you go. this is the map. this is the map of inundays. there are the ships. there are the tall ships, all the way in here. if you come around here on the other side as well, you can actually see that part of the world trade tower complex, and i know you've been there, what did they do to the complex, they dug it out. that dig-out is righ

will it head into new york city? will it just go into the west in new jersey in just to the east on long island? it will matter to millions of people and our weather center is getting a good handle out. fox news channel, america's choice for news. premiering the revolution by lg. the newest release with verizon 4g lte. the first phone pre-loaded with access to netflix's massive movie library. powered by verizon 4g lte for an unparalleled streaming experience. see how mobile entertainment was meant to be seen. only with verizon 4g lte. now get the revolution by lg for $199.99 and receive 3 months of netflix free. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] with the most advanced engine in its class, 50 horsepower, dual overhead cams and fierce acceleration, the gator xuv 825i will shatter your expectations. discover the fastest most powerful gator yet, at johndeere.com/gator. >> shep: storm is still going up the eastern seaboard, i would about to say barreling but i believe it's slowed down. it's taking a jog to the north and east. we

and hours ago, new york city mayor michael bloomberg addressed the people of new york city. >> the edge of the hurricane is finally come upon us and conditions are expected to deteriorate rapidly. according to the national weather service, tropical winds can be expected from this point forward. a tornado watch, just to make life more complex, is in effect until 5:00 a.m. in the five boroughs and in nassau, suffolk, westchester and rockland counties. hopefully, that won't happen. but there is the potential. combined, i think it's fair to say that these conditions make it unsafe to stay outside. let me repeat that. the time for evacuation is over. everyone should now go inside and be prepared to stay inside until weather conditions improve, which won't likely be until sunday afternoon. but we will get through this next 24 hours, i assure you. the city has taken exhaustive steps to prepare for whatever comes our way and the very best first responders are going to work nonstop through the night to make sure we get through this night as safely as possible. i am joined by our fire commissione

way, close to new york city. >> thank you, julie. glad people are listening to those warnings. a lot of new yorkers are like, hey, we dealt with 9/11, we can deal with this. but this is serious. another advisory at the top of the hour. stay with us for the late test as irene gets ready to slam into new york city. we will go to the fox extreme weather center for the latest on the storm. f!

still ahead, bracing in new york city. the hurricane is already a historic event, the first ever mandatory evacuation order in effect for parts of all five burrows of new york city. we're going to take a look at the rare times the northeast has take an direct hit from a hurricane and what kind of impact that has had coming up. you okay?[] try this. bayer aspirin? it's not a heart attack. new bayer advanced aspirin's for pain. it has microparticles and enters the bloodstream faster. works twice as fast as before. did you invent this or something? dr. eric first, from bayer. wow. [ male announcer ] new bayer advanced aspirin. wow. distracted driving. it accounts for 25% of car crashes. - ♪ [ dance ] - music, cell phones, food-- the list goes on. this is why safe driving is so important. - correct. - and it's why the best agents... help safe drivers get a lower rate. - oh! - exactly. ♪ another dream but always you ♪ whoa! ♪ it's like a vision-- [ tires squeal ] ♪ [ resumes ] [ man announcing ] we are insurance. ♪

public transportation in new york city including the metro and buses have come to a halt as new york city prepares for this is dangerous and possibly destructive hurricane parts of the city was was filled with crowds of people as you saw of fishel zx evacuating new yorkers from parts of areas that were deemed extremely dangerous for the first time in history the new york city mayor ordered mandatory evacuation of what he called low rise areas these are areas all throughout new york that are very close to the water and it is estimated that more than two hundred thousand new yorkers will have to evacuate their homes and go to shelters close to seventy shelters have been set up in new york city in preparation for this hurricane hurricane i read it's also been recommended to anyone that lives above the tenth floor to a vacuum wait from their building this storm is expected to hit the city by nine pm with wind gusting anywhere between forty and eighty miles per hour u.s. president barack obama has issued a state of emergency for new york meaning that new york will receive federal funding

public transportation in new york city including the metro and buses have come to a halt as new york city prepares for this dangerous and possibly destructive hurricane parts of the city was was filled with crowds of people as you saw officials evacuating new yorkers from parts of areas that were deemed extremely dangerous for the first time in history the new york city mayor ordered mandatory evacuation of what he called a low rise areas these are areas all throughout new york that are very close to the water and it is estimated that more than two hundred thousand new yorkers will have to evacuate their homes and go to shelters close to seventy shelters have been set up in new york city in preparation for this hurricane hurricane irene it's also been recommended to anyone that lives above the tenth floor to a vacuum wait from their building this storm is expected to hit the city by nine pm with the wind gusting anywhere between forty and eighty miles per hour u.s. president barack obama has issued a state of emergency for new york meaning that new york will receive federal funding o

disastrous hurricane on its way to new york city this hurricane is expected to hit new york by nine pm saturday evening parts of the city was was filled with crowds of people as you saw officials evacuating new yorkers from parts of areas that were deemed extremely dangerous for the first time in history the new york city mayor ordered mandatory evacuation of what he called low rise areas these are areas all throughout new york there are very close to the water as of twelve pm all public transportation will come to walk home it's also been recommended to anyone that lives above the tenth floor to evacuate from their building now up until this point new yorkers were really taking these warnings and these forecasts seriously because the last time this city experienced our hurricane very heavy and dangerous hurricane was in one thousand nine hundred thirty eight but as we saw saturday we saw the winds picking up we saw many people rushing to the supermarkets rushing to stores to stock up on good stock up on food stock up on water some engineers believe that the infrastructure of new york

york city but most of the damage we are talking about has been outside of new york city. it is long island, it it is upstate new york, the mid hudson. that is where we clearly the preponder arancance of the dame clearly is. >> you have a place in west chest evewestchester county. >> and obviously i stay in albany. both places. i have seen days -- >> shepard: well, the governor you's phone is breaking up. you were getting local stuff. that is the triburrough bridge, i believe. all the bridges seem to be open in and around new york city. that stat fox news corner of the world on the left-hand side of the screen there, 6th avenue right at 48th street in the heart of midtown at rockefeller center. for most of the morning and that is a look at the overview of times square. folks starting to come back in there. the road that runs to the left there is now a pedestrian mall if you haven't been in new york city a couple of years you would be astounded what mark bloomberg has done to it. you can't drive-thru there any more. the taxis are running and livery cab drivers running but a

still ahead bracing new york city. the hurricane is already a historic event first-ever mandatory evacuation order for all five boroughs. the northeast has taken a direct hit from a hurricane, what kind of an impact that has had coming up. 's for pain. it has microparticles and enters the bloodstream faster. works twice as fast as before. did you invent this or something? dr. eric first, from bayer. wow. [ male announcer ] new bayer advanced aspirin. but not in my neighborhood. ♪ [ female announcer ] we're throwing away misperceptions about natural gas vehicles. more of the vehicles that fuel our lives use clean american natural gas today. it costs about 40 percent less than gasoline, so why aren't we using it even more? start a conversation about using more natural gas vehicles in your community. start a conversation about using more natural gas vehicles any questions? no. you know... ♪ we're not magicians ♪ we can't read your mind ♪ ♪ read your mind ♪ we need your questions ♪ each and every kind ♪ eve

it puts it 115 miles from new york city. we've been focusing on new york. there is a reason to are that. new york is say place that has 8 million, 9 million people in op population. you're talking about a lot of people being affected in a place that's not known for its hurricane preparedness. new york is ready for a lot of stuff. it ain't quite ready for this. you have the airports closed, the public transit closed down. they're telling us, can you imagine this, tomorrow morning, rush hour, the commute, no public transit tomorrow in new york. >> a lot of people don't have cars. they rely on the subway system and the buss to get where they have to go. people are basically stuck at their homes. it's unclear -- maybe that's what they need, people to stay home for a while and maybe that's what's going to happen here. >> the mayor is telling them to do that, asking everybody to evacuate. that was yesterday, the day before. that's over. don't even try to go anywhere now. you need to stay in your homes. jacqui jeras, do i have you over there? >> i think you got me

the storm is closing in on new york city, 20 miles south of new york city. winds beginning to get stronger. >> that's right. 30 to 50 miles an hour right now. hurricane strength, about 07 miles an hour. this is hurricane irene. it will hit new york in about 30 minutes. we've seen storm surges in new york. down in southern new york, the east side of new york down by wall street. chris cuomo tweeted a while ago, showing water breeer breaching wall into manhattan. raining hard in new york city. hurricane irene hit land yesterday. 3 million people on the east coast without power. at least nine deaths blamed on the storm. it's speeding up, going about 25-mile-an-hour right now. that's as fast as it's gone. still hurricane strength. as we said, the center of the storm about to hit new york city. it will hit land actually in long island and our entire abc news team is all over the storm zone right now. >> long island is getting slammed by the storm right now. it's headed our way and is there in long island. we see going back to john bermen in montauk right now. joh

york city, new york city needs to take seriously and indeed it does and it's my impression. this is a storm that will carry water up against the coastline. we'll have those winds. i think it will be tropical storm if not category 1 storm surge, if it weakens it will be less. if it strengthens, it will be more. the big point of this and what i want to say is based on the track, track is responsible for the prep regulates. the track is responsible for the evacuations and the track is responsible for the coverage. our job is to make people aware of what the outside possibility is with a storm like this and get them ready to survive it. if this storm were to turn or dissipate or fall apart, fine everybody is okay. that's what matters. it's getting their attention and getting them ready for this storm. i think this storm will hold together in a very powerful form for this area. not something they see and deal with and roll and flood and take a lot of power with it. it will be a real problem over the weekend. >> the key question i guess, lots of people on twitter very worried, unn

then up to new york city by tomorrow morning. that long island sound there could be a big event. >> thanks. thanksla for watching nbc bay aa news at 5:00. hurricane irene pounding the east coast with wind, rain, 20-foot waves and coastal flooding. already there are storm-related deaths and damage, power outages and millions more in the storm's path, including here in the nation's largest city. path, including here in the nation's largest city. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> a special dpeechk to good evening to our viewers on the coast. while it takes a lot to impress people on the west coast in terms of a natural disaster, we're in the middle of one in the east. the destructive run of hurricane irene is well under way this evening. it's churning up the east coast and as it poss, the effects of this hurricane are felt for anything from 18 to 24 hours. because it's so big and lumbering and slow. the storm is over 500 miles wide at the core. winds at 85 miles an hour. waves up and over t

disastrous hurricane on its way to new york city this hurricane is expected to hit new york by nine pm saturday evening parts of the city was was filled with crowds of people as you saw officials evacuating new yorkers from parts of areas that were deemed extremely dangerous for the first time in history the new york city mayor ordered mandatory evacuation of what he called low rise areas these are areas all throughout new york that are very close to the water as of twelve pm all public transportation will come to a halt it's also been recommended to anyone that lives above the tenth floor to evacuate from their building now up until this point new yorkers were really taking these warnings and these forecasts seriously because the last time this city experienced our hurricane a very heavy and dangerous hurricane was in one thousand nine hundred thirty eight but as we saw saturday we saw the winds picking up we saw many people rushing to the supermarkets rushing to the stores to stock up on good stock up on food stock up on water some engineers believe that the infrastructure of new yor

york city has also been placed under a tornado watch sold at five am sunday morning in new york city michael bloomberg did have a press conference stating and urging all new yorkers to stay away from their windows move away from their glass windows because he says the winds are going to take up speed friday new york city michael bloomberg the first time in history issued a mandatory evacuation of certain parts of new york city up to three hundred seventy thousand people live here all these evacuation zones the wind of people chose to not move chose to stay in their homes but i told her all there is a feeling of anxiety taking over not just new york but all the surrounding states and it did get to speak with some people that were heading to the stores to buy up supplies i sad a little bit of what they had to say i love. my whole life this is the only real one they really had. for so here's to you know something though we don't know the whole thing arms around is like going outside in the in like tons of water like hurricane katrina like that for me the public transfer station system i

york city, we're giving you a look at new york harbor. there she is, lady liberty. she is looking out over new york harbor, and we know the storm clouds are gathering and they're coming her way. we'll have more after a short break here on msnbc. >>> welcome become. you're taking a look at an aerial view of mats mass. evidence of folks there still boarding up in xrpgs for hurricane 19. they've got about 24 hours before irene makes landfall in their area. nonetheless, they're dealing with towing boats. getting them out of harm's way, out of the water. once those things get battered by those winds thee are heading out to sea and potentially lost forever. clearly, folks in massachusetts trying to board up their homes and make due with what they've got to make them safer. let's take a look right now at massachusetts. that is, of course, on the south shore there of cape cod and you can look over and see martha's vineyard. as a matter of fact, it's falmouth that you can take we're going to get those kinds of details from nbc meteorologist jefr,

evacuation's a party taken place in new york city. listen to this man and what he talks about. >> we have children there and grandchildren there. i think we really need to be there. >> how are they doing at this time? >> i think there are ok. my son-in-law who is a doctor and hospital there was told that they're going to evacuate the hospital but they are keeping him there. were my daughter is very concerned. we will see what happens. >> presidency, the east coast is preparing for her can irene. keep in mind, even though on saturday and sunday if you are headed to hawaii, you could be impacted. according to one a spokesperson, many of the flights that take off to hawaii at some of the other places in california start off in boston, philadelphia or new york. if they did not get off the ground, your figure could also be impacted even though you are heading west. >> they say that this hurricane is slow turning meaning that it could leave your and hover. >> the storm track now brings it closer to shore. it is going to run of the ocean qui

on up into philadelphia and new york city. the winds are going to be strong, the rain's going to be heavy, and we're going to see a whole lot of flooding with that 6 to 12 inches of rain. >> jacqui jeras, thank you once again. >>> at 12 minutes past the hour now, i want to turn to coast guard rear admiral william lee. he's a commander for the fifth district of the coast guard. that's, essentially, he handles the mid-atlantic. his responsibility runs from north carolina through new jersey, so this is the guy to talk to who's right now handling things over there where, exactly where this storm is and is headed. sir, we appreciate your time with us this morning. tell me, have you jumped into action just yet? you were prepared, but have you had to react to anything in north carolina just yet, and what do you anticipate? >> yes, good morning. we have repositioned all of our forces that were in the path of the storm, and we are postured to respond as the storm passes and we're going to swing around behind it. what the general public

new york city mayor michael bloomberg w

public transportation in new york city including the metro and buses have come to a halt as new york city prepares for a busy dangerous and possibly destructive hurricane parts of the city was was filled with crowds of people as you saw officials evacuating new yorkers from parts of areas that were deemed extremely dangerous for the first time in history the new york city mayor ordered i had a mandatory evacuation of what he called the low rise areas these are areas all throughout new york that are very close to the water and it is estimated that more than two hundred thousand new yorkers will have to evacuate their homes and go to shelters close to seventy shelters have been set up in new york city in preparation for this hurricane hurricane i read it's also been recommended to anyone that lives above the tenth floor to a vacuum leak from there bill. we do appreciate everything that you grew. up when you were. just doing. this where. this is the only real one to really have a major regulation for so here's to you know something though we don't know up until this point new yorkers we

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boston, new york city and philadelphia. for now, j.r. stone. kron4 news. >>> local volunteers are gearing up to help out with the aftermath of irene. crews talked to some of them as they packed up. a look at what they plan to do when we continue. [ male announcer ] get ready for the left lane. the volkswagen autobahn for all event is back. right now, get a great deal on new volkswagen models, including the jetta, awarded a top safety pick by the iihs. that's the power of german engineering. hurry in and lease the jetta s for just $179 a month. ♪ visit vwdealer.com today. ♪ and a forward thinking spirit. at bank of america, we've been fueling economic growth here for over a century. today we're investing in innovations that will define our future. every day, we're working to help set opportunity in motion. from financing a solar project for the milpitas school district to funding the institute at golden gate. because when you're giving, lending, and investing in more communities across the country, more opportunities happen. >>> new details

new york city is under a hurricane warning tonight, extremely rare. so are the fact that mandatory evacuations are underway. lester holt is inside the evacuation zone, in lower manhattan. lester, we have had minor flooding over the years where they have taken some folks out of nursing homes, perhaps a hospital or two, but this kind of thing has never happened in new york city. >> reporter: you know, brian, it's interesting you said seen at all. there are 8 million of us living in new york city, we do feel at times we have seen it all. heck we had an earthquake this week. but when the mayor announced mandatory evacuations in a lot of this city, it got a lot of folks' attention. tonight urgent reality is gripping the big apple. the naked city has never felt so exposed. residents in low lying neighborhoods are now being urged to get out. >> i feel nervous, like i don't really know what's going on, i don't know what's going to happen. that's always a scary feeling. zblsh the. >> reporter: the city has produced a map showing the relative flood risk, now zo

here's the latest from new new york city's times square. >> tourist are returning to times square and hundreds of thousands of new yorkers are returning to their homes tonight. the heart of the city largely was spared, but all around this area irene left her mark. >> irene was angry but not enraged when she visited new york. reduced to a tropical storm, she still had the strength to knock down trees, flood parts of the city and swamp suburbs. thrill seekers found themselves stranded. more than 2 million people lost power in dismurk the surrounding areas -- in new york and the surrounding areas about the city escaped the urban apocalypse. >> the mayor lifted the city's first ever mandatory evacuation, saying it's now okay for nearly 400,000 new yorkers in low-lying areas to go back home but getting back to work won't be easy. officials wouldn't say when subways and trains on the nation's largest mass transit system will start rolling again. >> the actions we took yesterday were right. the yards where we relocated trains out of are yards that are underwater right now. >> reporter: perha

then we get up to new york city. but also long island and closer to the water you have these life-threatening conditions expected there. so heed all evacuation orders. it is critical on both sides of long island and anywhere near the water. then in new england, that's going to take until sunday as you said to get up there. i just want to show you real quickly the wave heights with this system now along the coast already. in this white area those are over 30 feet in. some places over 40 feet and that is heading for the coastline. and that is why it is critical that people at the coast or anywhere near the water pay very close attention and they are ready to go the second that evacuation order goes out. contessa, an extreme, extreme event like i have certainly read about, thought about, but never really thought would happen. >> bryan, let me ask you specifically, let's talk about the people who are first in line here, for instance, north carolina, are you most concerned about storm surge there? are you concerned about

what about the surge in new york city? so low to the ground, talking about it, it's going to be so specific to where you are exactly. especially if this thing passes off to the east. that means places like laguardia and jfk will get an easterly surge. a lot of water will pile up on the west side of long island down the harlem and east river and down towards new york harbor. that's going to be the tricky forecast. providence, boston, new england, you're going to see it as well as a strong storm and will be accelerating as it gets further north. >> you mean literally the speed of the storm, the movement. >> the movement. the further north it gets it gets into the jet stream and really starts to pick up steam. >> two things when you hear about speed, the speed of the winds which is what we always think about, the categories, how fast it moves which affects whether it weakens or strengthens. >> and makes the right side of the the storm that much more powerful. it gets over a little bit more of a hurry. you can look at it two w

areas of new york city. the mayor michael bloomberg is ordering people to take this unprecedented order to leave seriously. >> we have seen a marked increase in the number of people evacuating, most are getting the message, but for some reason, some people have yet to leave so let me just one more time, i hate to sound like a broken record, but it is exactly what we are trying to do. if you haven't left, you should leave now. not later this evening, not later this afternoon, but immediately. >> our senior medical important elizabeth cohn is covering the medical evacuations in new york city. >> reporter: wolf, they went surprisingly well given that hospitals had about 12 hours to get all of their patients out. and if you take a look at this map we're talking about five hospitals in new york city, lower manhattan, staten island, coney island, et cetera, but when you add nursing homes, wolf, and other health care facilities, 22 facilities had to get people out. and i sat at new york university hospital and watc

that's a different agency than new york city. the mayor has been certainly focused on this issue for several days and this is the first time in anyone's memory that we mandated people have to evacuate from certain areas. but it seems proven certainly to the mayor and the mayor's staff. >> this is a serious situation. a category 1, 75 mile-per-hour winds in new york city, i mean, explain to those of us who are watching at home right now that don't live in new york city, they don't quite understand the dangers around your city. we've got the high building, scaffolding. we've got high-rise buildings with glass windows that could easily be affected by high winds. you've got a lot more danger surrounding us here. >> precisely. that's a very good point. we have an awful lot of high buildings, tremendous potential for glass, flying glass, for scaffolding. the tides can rise precipitously, particularly with this storm. that's what they're talking about. the winds are not that great, certainly we've seen stronger winds here in new york in

york city mayor michael bloomberg that order a mandatory evacuation of certain parts of new york city those are wrangled lying areas approximately three hundred seventy thousand people who live in all those different areas a lot of people evacuated and a lot of new yorkers chose to stay and our way out of the storm as it made its way to new york of according to what we are all just are saying this storm has now caused me york city is heading towards rhode island newport rhode island and new england and it could even become a little bit greater as it gains momentum heading that way but it did turn out to be a lot less than what was anticipated and what was hyped up and at this point it's just about cleanup here in new york. of course we're closely following the developments all raveling on the east coast of america which has been hit by a wave of extreme weather. for you to travel to watch the most recent as well as the most impressive video from the hurricane site. now europe spreading debt crisis is threatening to grow enough for the government announce a new austerity measures earli

also bracing for the storm new york city still in the path of irene. thousands ordered to leave now fearing potential historic flooding in parts. the storm still moving on its expected path along the east coast. there are key developments to tell you about this morning. a good morning to all of you. welcome to msnbc live coverage of hurricane irene. i'm alex witt here at msnbc world headquarters. we're going to get the latest forecast for you on irene's path. it is now hitting north carolina head on. mark potter is live for us in nags head. a good morning to you, what's it like? >> reporter: hi, alex. we're getting some very strong east windows now. it's been blowing all night and it's kicking up at this hour. we're expecting it to get considerably worse as the eye of the storm approaches us. the tide as you can see behind me is coming up. we're just finishing a high tide. that's a factor in this. the good news is i'm not seeing any areas where the tide has breached the sand dunes. they're holding and that's good news. more good news is at least in thi