Hurricane Irene finally struck the American East Coast ploughing through N.Carolina and then heading northward on a collision course with New York City and Washington D.C. The casualty list is not very long as yet, but ten people have been reported to be killed in Virginia and N. Carolina.

At the time of writing this (0900 EST, 28th August, 2011), Hurricane Irene was located just north of New York and in Boston. It is now a Category 1 storm with wind speeds touching 75 mph. The ground wind speed is reaching as high as 40 mph.

[Update: As of 1145 EST, Hurricane Irene has been downgraded from a 'Category 1' storm to a 'Tropical Storm'. Wind speed is about 60-65 mph. It is expected to weaken rapidly now. Good News finally. Why?]

Reports of flooding have already started pouring in. New York City has been on high alert and the situation is expected to worsen with the East River starting to break its banks owing to the heavy rainfall. Large parts of Lower Manhattan is flooded with the Hudson river overflowing its banks. Atlantic City is deserted and people have been told to stay off the roads.

Despite mandatory evacuation orders from Mayor Bloomberg, New York City residents stayed put. Departmental stored have been emptied and residents have stocked up large amounts of food, medicine, essential supplies and torch batteries to help themselves weather out this storm.

A reported 3 million people on the East Coast have been left without power. There was a brief moment of concern when a nuclear power reactor in Calvert Cliffs, Maryland stopped responding, but the Constellation Energy Nuclear Group assures that there is no threat. All transport facilities in Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Jersey, Atlantic City and New York City have been halted. Even 911 services have stopped sending relief vans once the winds picked up speed.

As always, we sincerely hope that you stay safe.

Previous Reports from us:

Irene to make landfall HERE

Irene Prompts Mandatory Evacuation Notice from New York City Mayor HERE

An Awesome But Scary Infrared Photo Of Hurricane Irene From Space Taken A Few Days Back HERE

We will continue updating with any major new developments.

Update: A Look At Why Hurricane Irene Petered Out the Way It Did. HERE