MICHAEL BLOOMBERG

The city that never sleeps started shutting down at midday on Saturday, with nearly all businesses except a smattering of food and liquor stores closing and public transportation coming to a halt ahead of Hurricane Irene.

Hurricane Irene has shut New York City down. Mayor Michael Bloomberg says subway lines may not reopen Monday.

The Hurricane Irene update Saturday is not a good one for residents living along the upper U.S. East Coast. Hurricane Irene 2011 is on a path to become possibly the most destructive and disruptive storm most have seen in a lifetime lifetime, claiming lives, pouring destruction, and shutting down New York, America's largest city, before the storm even arrives.

Hurricane Irene charged up the U.S. eastern seaboard on Saturday as a weakening but dangerous storm that shut down New York City and threatened to inflict massive blackouts and flooding.

Hurricane Irene 2011 is on a path to become the East Coast storm of a lifetime, claiming lives, pouring destruction, and shutting down New York, America's largest city, move before the storm even arrives. Irene has already claimed three lives in North Carolina and winds of 90 miles per hour and torrential rainfall is inflicting heavy damage.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says a downtown power shut-off is likely in advance of a Hurricane Irene strike.

You can't prepare for the best case, you have to prepare for the worst case, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg tweeted Saturday morning, as NYC faces its first ever evacuation order due to the upcoming threat of Hurricane Irene.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is urging city residents to heed warnings of evacuation. He said Irene poses a serious threat to the city.

Hurricane Irene howled ashore in North Carolina on Saturday on a path that triggered evacuations in New York and threatened the densely populated East Coast with flooding and power outages.

As Hurricane Irene barrels towards New York City (NYC), Mayor Michael Bloomberg has ordered an evacuation of Zone A residents by 5:00 p.m. ET.

New York is in the eye of Hurricane Irene's path. Here's why America's largest city faces high risk from Hurricane Irene.

Hurricane Irene makes landfall in North Carolina. 2.5 million evacuation orders are issued along the East Coast. President Obama says Irene will be 'costly.'

Hurricane Irene is about to make history, aiming at a rare strike on New York. The city is getting ready for Irene's arrival. Evacuations are underway, and the MTA is nearing noon shutdown.

Hurricane Irene was downgraded to a Category 1 storm early Saturday but updated forecasts still show Irene is a powerful threat. The hurricane is nearing landfall in North Carolina, and models still show it should hit New York within 24 hours at hurricane strength. New York remains directly in the path of Irene on Saturday, and the storm is forecast to strike late Saturday and early Sunday at hurricane strength. But first, the Category 1 storm is within hours of making landfall in eastern North ...

Irene is bearing down on North Carolina early Saturday, preparing to make landfall. In New York, residents and officials continue preparation with evacuations and closings.

Hurricane Irene slightly lost some of its power on Saturday, but the destructive storm continues to move toward North Carolina's coast reportedly knocking out power and threatening to batter much of the East Coast.

New Yorkers are bracing for the worst as Hurricane Irene rages its way up towards the eastern seaboard from North Carolina.

Hurricane Irene is barreling down New York, prompting Mayor Michael Bloomberg to declare the city's first ever mass mandatory evacuation on some areas.

The New York City has experienced unprecedented mandatory evacuations as part of emergency preparations on Friday as the massive Category 1 storm with a speed of 90 mph, teamed up with heavy rains, has approached.

The world writes Friday that New Yorkers are in a state of panic and emergency. The city is facing the threat of Hurricane Irene, and it is serious. But New York on Friday was only a picture of calm and resolve as Irene made a track toward America's largest city.

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