Hurricane Irene could end up shutting down New York City for days.
The city's subway and mass transit system closed at noon on Saturday, and ahead of Irene's arrival Mayor Michael Bloomberg said subways weren't likely to be reopened on Monday. Without a functioning subway system, New York would remain at a virtually standstill.
Bloomberg also issued a mandatory evacuation of all New Yorkers living in Zone A areas, including Brooklyn's Coney Island and Manhattan Beach, Far Rockaway in Queens, low-lying areas on Staten Island, and Manhattan's Battery Park City by 5 p.m. Saturday. Some 350,000 New Yorkers have been ordered to evacuate, and Bloomberg said about 14,000 have sought shelter in emergency housing provided by the city.
Nearly, 5,000 flights have been canceled in anticipation for Irene's arrival.
Check out the below pictures of people fleeing their low-lying flood-prone areas to safety.
Must Read: Hurricane Irene Leaves Behind Trial of Death and Destruction in East Coast (PHOTOS)
Car glass windows do not provide sufficient protection against the sun's ultraviolet radiation, particularly against UVA! radiation which is more damaging than UVB or UVA2 radiation. ReutersTravelers wait in line for Metro North tickets at New York's Grand Central StationReutersHurricane 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 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 JoyceTicket agents Saturday remove the stanchions which form the ticketing lines at JFK International Airport as the city prepare for Hurricane Irene to hit in New York.ReutersResidents leave buildings before the arrival of Hurricane Irene at downtown Manhattan in New York August 27, 2011. Mayor Michael Bloomberg sternly warned New Yorkers to follow the city's unprecedented mandatory evacuation orders on Saturday, saying approaching Hurricane Irene is "life-threatening" and "not a joke." Some 370,000 of the city's more than 8 million residents are under orders to leave their homes in low-lying and waterfront areas, largely in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens and in the financial district in downtown Manhattan.ReutersA woman walks through the Times Square subway station after the last subway has left, August 27, 2011. Mayor Michael Bloomberg sternly warned New Yorkers to follow the city's unprecedented mandatory evacuation orders on Saturday, saying approaching Hurricane Irene is "life-threatening" and "not a joke." Some 370,000 of the city's more than 8 million residents are under orders to leave their homes in low-lying and waterfront areas, largely in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens and in the financial district in downtown Manhattan.Reuters
