this is the wettest month on record in new jersey and new york. so we're already dealing with pretty bad conditions and now compounded by now tropical storm irene as well. so flooding remains an ongoing concern. a lot of people are out walking the streets trying to check things out. you see people town there along the river front. they are being advised not to do that. although here there's no downed electrical wires. there are areas that's flooded there are some downed electrical wires. there's a concern that people can get electrocuted. the warning continues to be to stay in your homes until this is completely over and it's going to be hours yet, alex. >> i'm glad you reiterated the warnings from the officials to stay inside. how about power because i know across the state of new jersey overall there are 400,000 without power, which has put about 15,000 people in shelters overnight. can you see lights coming on? have you lost power? >> reporter: we do have -- we have power here if you look here right behind me the buildings. we have power here.

. >> you expect it to clear new jersey by mid afternoon. u shut down the mass transit in philadelphia and new york. when do you expect you might be able to get subways and buses running again? >> the issue, george, we don't know. we don't know how much damage is done. how many trees are done on tracts throughout the injure new jersey. we have 200 closed roadways. it's difficult to estimate when we get the new jersey transit up and running. we don't know what the extent of damage has been to the infrastructure and tree blockage to the roads. we have to make an assessment which we won't be able to do until the storm clears. it's too dangeroususor anybody to be out there right now. >> same go force gambling in atlantic city? >> folks in atlantic city, we cleared out almost all of them. senior citizens, in atlantic city, some who stayed. we took out about 100 yesterday, in a last-ditch effort. we hope to get to those folks quickly to make sure they are okay. >> you are doing damage assessments right now and hope to be back to normal say by the e

n new jersey where sharon crowley whose voice you heard is holding to oorth. she is a reporter in our station here in new york and in emergecone$ s jersey. sharon andre as it pretty miserably. is he a rare case or are there many more leabe it? >> i am on the west side of hoboken and a lot of hom hiwners with the first floor apartments have the same situation happening in their basement. as do a nneber of businesses on the main drag there and some of the side streets. we can hear the pneps trying to nnmp the water out of the basement so they could open again. gou can get a litity.e perspece ie whs dark. you can see water covering where we are on first street here. eiark avenow te you can see thes still water all of the way down to the larger roads here. we are in the west side. if you are not familiar with hoboken the homes on the hudson river there they are on higher ground they are below sea level. this is a an area that usually they were u ting p hiple who own apartments to evacuate. n haveghborhood. they were trying to get people out just for this very rears

trouble ahead for new jersey atlantic city eager to get ready for business. der has been ln the casinos will open at noon tomorrow. >> i guess they will be rune an the buses in new york ipfor. >> buses, trains, cars, anyway you can get here. >> trains, planes and automat wiles. thank you for being here. appreciate it. >> craig is in fairfield another eiart of new jersey in the northern part of the state. i would gs nssappfor from as antitatipfor north. what is your situation there and i understand you have som hine watio3 can meet and greehe wa >> yes. geraldo, hurricane irene tore up the eastehers sea board she dned omeacityy a foot of water. they had two major rivers the compton river and pose aiackriver. a lot of northern new jersey is draining down draining south and ends up piling up in fairea iel causing major flooding. i am with the mayor he will explain some of that why they are hfor.ing historic levels on the shore of the rivers going into the passaic. what's haheiening? >> whaneps happee ang is they a coming down and it comes close to the pose back.

new jersey governor chris christie says today is the last day to prepare. l's adam burg is in asbury park and mike taibbi is in sag harbor, new york. let's begin with the situation where you are, adam. >> reporter: it's the calm before the storm. it's a warm day. temperatures in the 80st. this is the calmest moment. as early as 5:00 p.m. tonight we're going to close this beach down. it will be closed at least until 9:00 a.m. monday. hurricane watches extending into new england. a hurricane warning means 36 hours into that particular spot you can expect hurricane force winds. we're talking a day, day and a half. it's a large system. it's lost a little steam as far as sustained winds. it's still a strong category two hurricane with wind speeds at 105 miles per hour. the problem with this system it's so large that those swells and that surge will be rolling in. we'll see a high tide saturday night and another high tide saturday morning and that would probably be the worst of it. >> adam, thank you for the update. i just received a note that president obama is g

hurricane irene battered the east coast from north carolina to virginia, from maryland to delaware, new jersey to new york. vermont to massachusetts. 20 or more are dead. millions still without power. billions in damages have been inflicted. tonight live and at large. how bad was she is this when will things be back to normal and who pays for the cleanup? >> many americans are still at serious risk of power outages and flooding which could be worse as rivers swell past the banks. i want people to understand this is not over. >> now comes the floods. hi everybody. i am geraldo rivera. as new york and many cities up and down the northeast coast breathe a collective sigh of relief that the winds and sea water storm surge of hurricane irene didn't end the world' we know it. the impact nevertheless from the hurricane is widespread and it is serious including several dead in new york state. three in new jersey. four in virginia. six in north carolina. and three more in pennsylvania. philadelphia is also being hard hit by record flooding. tonight as we mourn the dead and tally the damage our urgent f

the flooding on the rivers in new jersey is extensive. that is where the story continues to develop. >> it continuing, because those rivers have yet to crest thank you so much, bill karins. let's get the situation from new york's coney island, specifically brooklyn. there's peter alexander, you're by the cyclone, appropriately enough named. >> reporter: it is pretty appropriate given what we just experienced, the cyclone roller coaster, the cyclones, the minor league baseball team located not far from where we are. this is willthe oldest roller coaster. if you bring the camera this way, this is one of the old rides that has been shuttered, but all night long, we heard this howling, whistling as the wind was whipping around this structure, and then sort of the banging of metal against metal, which we only assume is happening, and there were blue skiersier. this is turning into what frankly could be a gorge usa afternoon. a few of the other sights you've seen in the past, and you can see are still standing is the good news, as the hurricane

the storm is later said to sweep the new jersey shore and past atlantic city where the casinos are closed and irene will make landfall very close to new york city. the belief is probably just to the east of the city, that is the hope, in preparation new york city ordered hundreds of thousands to evacuate. the train and bus services are shut down. millions of people who are here and do not have cars are stranded. this afternoon, the president visited the command center for the federal emergency management agency and told the workers they are doing a great job. here is a look at what they are doing. a listener on satellite sent this image. his truck is in line half mile long waiting to get loaded with emergency supplies at the air force base in new jersey. the defense secretary panetta is ordering 6,500 active duty drops to be ready if they have to help out. again, we have reporters spread across the storm's pact. and now, our cheat -- chief meteorologist. no change in intensity over land? rick: interacting with land and still with the sound but no change in intensity. what i am noticing on

michelle miller is in northern new jersey. >> reporter: this downed tree in maplewood, new jersey, has become a life and death obstacle for pam kattouf. >> i was out of my mind hysterical. >> reporter: the tree has left her in the dark and unable to care for her disabled husband and autistic son. >> my husband is very uncomfortable right now, he's got a lot of injuries from his accident, and i just feel like it's not a safe place. >> reporter: nearby, people are finding themselves relying on neighbors. in the other end of an orange extension cord. >> literally ran downstairs. >> reporter: at the height of the storm, andrea's power went out and so did her only defense against flooding, her sump pump. she reached out to a friend who plugged her right in. >> i mean that is our life line. it really, without it we would have had a complete disaster in our basement. >> the water level was up to here. if you look over here can you see the results of it. >> reporter: 15 miles away in morristown, new jersey, 10,000 people are still without power. here's why. the last time this electrical substa

we know we have officials in new jersey and new york, people are told don't go into the wears.yor of hoboken, new jersey saying don't go there early, but this is down again on the southern tip of manhattan's island there, everyone. this is evidence of all of that. a couple of cars. we see people taking pictures. that's all fine and good as long as there's no power lines. irene has left a lot of damage. i've heard about folks trying to deal with flooded-out basements burst pipes and the like. there's a lot of cleaning up to be done. we're approaching the top of the hour here ones in nbc. we're going to stay with our coverage of tropical storm irene. we'll be right back after a short break. f! >>> welcome back, everyone, to our continues coverage of now tropical storm irene, as we approach 11:00 a.m. on the east coast, 8:00 a.m. out west. you're looking at some new video in to us from the battery park area of lower manhattan. you're seeing evidence of it for yourself, though people are out now trying to take pictures, some of them a

over to long branch, new jersey, one of the most damaging storms in new jersey's history, back yards, basements, highways, streets, completely flooded, winds in excess of 30, 40, 50 miles per hour. the video coming out of long branch, new jersey is just devastating. finally we go to marian, massachusetts, this is a coastal town of massachusetts, where trees are down, thousands upon thousands of people are still without wer. we had wind gusts in excess of 70 miles per hour across this region of massachusetts. so as you can see, the damage continues to come in, in video, and we are looking at the least 13 states affected by this storm, killing at least two dozen people. bill: you know, the point on that, janice, the winds were not what everyone expected. that's okay. but it's the flooding and the water that has followed on the storm. janice, i want to show you some videotape out of vermont, okay? there were three historic covered bridges built in 1870, they were wiped out on the williams river and they just disappeared in a matter of seconds. >> reporter: unbelievable. bill: so that's o

haven't you see new jersey's tourism ads. >> in new jersey 44 people were arrested in a federal sting today including three mayors, and five rabbies. everything from bribery to selling organs. >> new jersey and you. perfect together. (applause) >> jon: we'll be right back. wlingz. >> my guest tonight an act ris. >> you know, we've never actually met. >> actually, we have, several times. >> have we? >> you crashed my birthday party, called pie juliy and-- down my top. >> well, i'm sorry about that. >> in, not at all. you're delightful. >> was i. >> no, look, if you are's not julie. >> i'm emma, emma morley. >> listen, i'll walk you home. >> i can tell you what is weird, she's not actually graduate until that film, it's just a hat she likes. please welcome back to the show anne hathaway. young lady. (applause) how are you? >> i'm good. i'm good. can i help with you something? >> jon: no, i was looking, i thought i had had pens down there but i have this one. hold on. >> so these are the nerds? (cheers and applause) my people! >> jon: they notice the world of war kraft font like that's s

incredible flooding in edgewater, new jersey. also a tweet coming in that the cranes are still intact at the world trade center in new york. there was concern that the cranes were secure and some things that people are saying online in observations regarding flooding in edgewater, new jersey, at least the cranes intact at the world trade center site. keep it locked on msnbc for continuing coverage. we will go back to rhode island where conditions are worsening by the minute and we want to hear how the storm is effecting you. keep in contact with us via twitter. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] unlike some car companies, nissan is running at 100% which means the most innovative cars, are also the most available cars. nissan, innovation for today. innovation for all. a living, breathing intelligence that's helping drive the future of business. in here, inventory can be taught to learn. ♪ machines have a voice. ♪ medical history follows you. it's the at&t network -- a network of possibilities... committed to delivering the most advanced mobile

multiple rivers will at or near flood stage in vermont, new jersey and new york. at the same time, crews are working to restore power to more than four million people. a job that may take days ark week or perhaps longer. virginia was hardest hit. at one point 2.5 million people were in the dark. the second largest outage in that state's history. and all of this of course is making it tough to get around today. hundreds of roads remain closed, bridges have been washed out in some places and train service in new jersey, new york and connecticut has been suspended. and one of those effects still playing out today of course, is air travel. at one point as many as a million passengers were believed to have been grounded when major airports including jfk, la guardia and newark shut down. let's talk to brian at newark today. >> reporter: it was earlier we have a gorgeous day the skies were so quiet. just about an hour ago slowly about one plane ever ten minutes hitting the skies. just because it's beautiful doesn't mean we're through the woods with air travel. over the w

in new jersey, nearly 700,000 people are without power right now. veral days to restore therapier. in new york city alone, 111,000 people without power. in long island, several -- i should say about 200,000 people right now are without power in long island. in connecticut, about half a million people are without power. and it is going to take at least until monday to start repairing the downed power lines. that is because the crews out in connecticut think it is too windy and just not safe to put those guys up on the cherry pickers report power lines until the wind dies down, shep. >> shepard: mike tobin live opt rockaways. 4.5 million without power on the east coast at one point or another. the man that represents some of the low lying area out there parts of brooklyn including cone in island, manhattan beach. dominik joins us on the line now. nice to talk to you, councilman. >> nice to talk to you, shep. >> a lot of flooding. >> the wave is are going to it continue to come in and what we are concerned about is that we can get all of this water out

we are in spring lake, new jersey which is called the jewel of the jersey shore.nickname. but just want to show you real quickly some of the flooding that this area is dealing with now. this is across between a huge pond which is out in that direction and the ocean. the two combined. there some water that comes down from the nearby townships. it causes all of this flooding. i want to show you video from earlier. we've been here in south jersey since about 1:00 p.m. yesterday afternoon in our mobile two unit. basically, taking in as much video as we could. again, with this technology we were able to be here on ocean avenue which is the main drag on driving on right now which runs right along the coastline here in the jersey shore area the entire distance. it runs for miles him, as a matter of fact. we were able to stay up and broadcast late last night and early this morning when conditions were at their worst here at jersey shore. lindh was coming down, the tide, the storm surge had inundated most of ocean avenue. like i said, it's this boulevard right along the je

for getting the power back on and dealing with the issues. >>> you heard just in philly alone, new jerseyl of this, certainly impacting airports and travel, 9,000 flights canceled. can you imagine how they're trying to get these people back on new flights? so check out this picture in new york. that's a picture from the governor. >>> and surging water almost took out one resident going for a wake in beach haven, new jersey. >>> mike and brad anderson wanted to personalize the surfing experience. so they started grain surboards out of a farm in mainest. they can design their own boards or take a course at the farm, where they share their expertise and passion. for more, watch "your business" sunday mornings at 7:30 on msnbc. [ drew ] give me volume. not clumps or gaps. the answer... it's all in the wrap. new covergirl lashperfection mascara perfectly wraps each lash for up to 3x more volume. new lashperfection. wrap it up. easy, breezy, beautiful covergirl. [ jim ] i need to push out a software upgrade. build a new app for the sales team in beijing. and convince the c.e.o. his email will f

that's new jersey.re's hope, there's promise that hurricane irene will barrel on through and we'll live to see another day and be a brighter one. let's hope so. stay with us everyone. we have more coverage on msnbc. we'll be right back after a short break.

all over the state of new jersey. here in the state of new york.theast as well. when it many could comes to flg what are the medical earns concerns? >> my number one concern is you are ready to get back to business as usual but don't understand there could be something lurking this that water and walking along and hit something sharp and end up with a cut or something you don't realize. you could fall and break a bone. are talking about clean water. people don't all have power. that water is filthy water. we could see disintery happening. >> at what point do the public officials come out and say boil the water? >> i don't think we are there yet. >> bill: happening anywhere right now? >> when you talk about 5 million people in the united states pout powe without powery didn't put aside potable water, theyville to boil the water if they have the facilities to boil the water. >> bill: a la lot of this is common sense but it is a good reminder because people are going through a period of their lives that many do not want to go back to. seen it in years

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, massachusetts, connecticut or interior sections of new york, it is all about the rain. no doubt about that. but for new jersey and long island, we're talking about the wind and the storm surge. if you decided to stay along the coastline it's been reported four to six feet of storm surge. and as we get into the high tide coming at about 8:00 for most of long island and new jersey that's when things could definitely get a little bit worse. but we do have a little bit of some good news at least on the storm front

heaviest rain exited the new jersey and pennsylvania area. w york state up into the adirondacks and all of northern new england and should be exiting most of connecticut and scepter extreme western massachusetts -- and except for extreme western massachusetts this afternoon. next slide, please this is the forecast for the rainfall continuing rainfall from on. we are still looking at some two to six inches of rain across this area, very highly prone to flash flooding, mountainous and hilly terrain already saturated grounds. next slide please. these are the impacts we are looking at. we are already getting some record reports in the river systems in philadelphia area responsibility widespread to moderate to major flooding southeast new york, western connecticut. our and is with the rainfall going up into the river systems of new hampshire and vermont we could see record flooding. flood stages on those rivers. the details for that is best had through our local forecast offs. by going to weather.gov and clicking on that area you will find the deta

congressman frank pallone of new jersey. k you, thomas. >>> well, dick cheney unplugged and defined as ever about his controversial new memoir. the vice president appeared for an exclusive interview this morning on the today show. here's what he said when matt lauer asked him whether his push to go to war with iraq hurt america's image around the globe. >> i don't think that it damaged our reputation around the world. i just don't believe that. i think, you know, the critics here at home would argue that, but in fact, i think it was sown policy that dealt with a very serious problem. that eliminated saddam hussein from the kind of problem he presented before. what would have happened this week if moammar gadhafi had still been in power with a nuclear weapon in libya? would he have fled? i doubt it. >> joining me now live from new orleans is melissa harris perry. she's a professor of political science. i think she has me beat as fill-in host for every show in primetime on msnbc. nice to see you. we have you up. >> yeah, absolu

made landfall overnight as a hurricane in two stops, first on the landfall on little egg inlet in new jersey, and then it hit another landfall, coney island, new york. at that time irene had weakened to a tropical storm. >> on long island, irene's storm surge flooded downtown long beach. some streets in manhattan also flooding, but the water really has started to recede already. it is sweeping up the east coast. irene has killed at least 15 people at last count as it started, as it fist made landfall in north carolina, more than 4 million people as a whole without power. irene moving north now. its biggest threat is inland flo flooding. >> still the word is "caution," and we have cnn crews up and down the east coast for you to bring you up-to-the-minute coverage on tropical storm irene live on cnn. the storm pushed the hudson river over its banks and into lower manhattan. soledad o'brien has been there covering this for hours and hours. i saw the cars stuck behind you. now you're along the hudson at battery park. talk to me about the water level. it was over the banks for a while. is it bett

no new jersey transit. to talk about the airplane coming in and out of the city, all cancelled flights, newark, new jersey and jfk international, la guardia, the three biggest, all of those airports are open for people to seek shelter. but no flights will be going out. as for public transportation, shut down until late monday. that will be a monday morning nightmare of a commute for a lot of new york residents. as we wait for the hurricane to come nwe are expecting 70-mile-per-hour winds, a category 1. certainly not strong for those of you who are sitting in florida, new york city, nevertheless, a very big deal and we are told by the new york city police commissioner, ray kelly, who spoke with me earlier, that in fact, new yorkers are complying. they are compliant for once. they have heeded the evacuation. we will be continuing to watch and see how new yorkers weather this storm as hurricane irene makes its way, close to new york city. >> thank you, julie. glad people are listening to those warnings. a lot

we're going to hear from new jersey governor chris christie. he'll give us the latest on that situation, very hard hit. he will take to the podium. we'll bring it to you live as soon as it happens. >>> meantime, slaervermont has n a big hit. the governor joins us now on the telephone. governor what is the situation in your state right now? >> well, we're being absolutely pummeled in the state of vermont. irene is dumping huge loads of water on us. we virtually have flooding from the southern end of the state to it northern end. it's now running up to the northern end of the state. virtually the entire state is impacted. we have over 100 roads closed. extraordinary washouts of bridges, roads, homes. one loss of what we believe to be a loss of life. we're still hopeful that a young woman was standing next to the river in wilmington and last seen by her boyfriend floating down the river. we haven't been able to locate her, or her body. so we're just really in tough shape up here as so many others are doing what the states are. >> and we understand

administrator craig fugate visited the state going to be checking out the damage in new york and new jerseym albany, new york. thanks very much for being with us. >> good morning. >> you've had, boy, a busy year. seen a lot of destruction in this country. a lot of people in the northeast who continue to say that we dodged a bullet here. you've spent time up there. what's your evaluation of it? >> nobody that got hit with this flooding dodged a bullet. loss of life, extensive damages, homes flooded, so it may not have been as big of a deal on the coast but these flood areas got hit hard. >> talk about money for a second. a lot of talk in the last couple days about fema having less than a billion dollars on hand, maybe running out of money and reallocating resources from some projects to others. can you give me some sense of what's going on with money? >> right now we're continuing our obligations to respond to all of the rescue operations, all of the immediate needs. we've said look we're not going to be able to fund permanent work from disasters that's not come in, we want to make sure we h

have declared states of new jersey. hurricane watches and warnings are posted this morning from north carolina to new jersey. if irene continues on track, it would be the strongest hurricane to hit the east coast in seven years. forecasters predict irene will hug the coast, heading straight up the i-95 corridor. it's expected to hit north carolina as a category 3 storm early tomorrow, then head north and slam into new york early sunday, before pushing up into new england. president obama has already declared a national state of emergency in north carolina. drew levenson is in kill devil hills on the outer banks where they're already beginning to feel the effects. good morning, drew. what's the latest there? >> reporter: good morning, betty. the surf is really starting to kick up here along the north carolina coast as we are bracing for a direct hit from hurricane irene tomorrow. right now it is a category 3 hurricane but forecasters predict as this hurricane moves across the warm waters, it could become a cat 4. up and

new jersey, upstate new york, connecticut, massachusetts, vermont, new hampshire and into maine as well in some of this. these rains coming on ground already saturated. we may have talked about it a little bit but let's touch on it again. the normal rainfall in this area is about 4 inches in august, they've had 12 inches of rain and now in many places, they're getting an additional 6 to 12 inches of rain from this storm. that's guaranteed flooding. we know at least 37 river gauges in the northeast will be in major flooding by the time we get into the next two days from now. that's going to be a real issue there. the winds will continue to be an issue as well. because as we're seeing right now, what comes after the center of irene moves through is a very powerful hit of dry wind. this is wind capable of doing some serious damage, jake. >> all right, sam. at's the concern right now, is that things will get worse before they get better. we appreciate your reporting from battery park. that's our program this week. be sure to watch a special edition of "world news" with diane sawyer. tonight

general we have been talking about emergen new jersey but wee vermont situation. it was expected to go further east went right up the vermont new york state boundary. vermonters are saying they have never seen flooding like this before. is there a second wave happening now? that has happened now more or less the river in philadelphia that started to recede the rivers further south at least they have trusted. what is happening further north? >> they clear in 24-hours a lot of water that moves quickly. nothing was absoabsorbed. we took steps we have 31 sdams in the new england region. they are not guilt built. we have protection every where. that is a double-wham double-wh 247 hours after it started. we have concerns with lower basin. >>> so many people have lost power including my family. it varies from state to state region to region county to county. half a million people paul rose sin grin of pseng a big utility in new jersey when does half a million go back on-line? thank you for being with us. >> i can only talk about 3757 thousand that are part of the bed. we

the right side of your screen is lumberton, new jersey. the right side fire island, new york.he left side is lumberton, new jersey, you can see the flooding that we've been talking about here. that particular area almost completely covered. right side there fire island. both live pictures, the damage on the right you can't really see from this particular vantage point. we have a live report from fire island as well. floodwaters also rising in new jersey leading to some unexpected situations in pompton lakes. a house exploded. the town surrounded by three rivers saw some serious floodings. firefighters had to try to contain the flames from a boat. michelle franzen en route to manville, new jersey, she joins us now by phone. >> reporter: that's exactly what they're up against. we're also driving around in different neighborhoods. someone said pick your spot. there's flooding widespread in communities all throughout new jersey. some of it from just rivers overflowing their banks due to the rain fall, but it's also due to the run off at this point. many of the rivers including the

there were 700 boat rescues today in just the state of new jersey. it goes on and on and connecticut, 1,000 roads, at least, still blocked. north carolina, this storm changed the map of the outer banks as they had feared. crippled infrastructure in new england. these power outages, 500,000 in connecticut. 300,000 in new jersey, have, as you might imagine, dramatically cut into the quality of life and people's ability to make a living. we begin with michelle franzen. she is in manville, new jersey, michelle, good evening. >> reporter: you mentioned the water rescues. it's not hard to believe when you're dealing with this storm. people are still not trying to escape the floodwaters. they are overwhelmed with the cleanup. rising rivers unleashed more pain today in the northeast. and help rushed in just as quickly to those areas hardest hit by irene. in patterson, new jersey, one family after another were rescued by boat as their homes and neighborhood fell victim to floodwaters. tonight, mandatory evacuations were ordered for 1,000 families in wallington

it's no longer going over new jersey, it's just off the coast of new jersey. so that would keep some of the strongest storm surge off the new jersey coastline. the track is still wobbling here and. there it's supposed to make category three early saturday. wilmington, this forecast looks better for you. >> thank you very much. across the east coast, residents are bracing for irene, especially in north carolina, that's where president obama has already declared a state of emergency. nbc's kristen dahlgren has more from the outer banks of north carolina. >> reporter: good morning. this is likely to be one of the first areas on the u.s. mainland to feel the effects and the national weather service is already -- some of those increased waves from hurricane irene are hitting the north carolina coastline. they say six to nine-foot swells coming in now, that suspected to get much worse tlhrough today. we could feel tropical storm-force winds later tonight and conditions continuing to deteriorate as the storm moves closer and getting worse going into saturday. there h

hurricane irene making her way up the east coast off new jersey at the moment. ns have picked up, the winds have picked up substantially in the last hour or so. the storm still a couple hours away from the new york metropolitan area. we're starting to see some street flooding here. the storm will arrive in new york just about the time of high tide. that's the concern in this barrier island here, as you get closer to the urban metropolitan areas, many in new york waking up trying to figure out just what is coming. how bad will the flooding be and the power outages that come with that flooding as new york, new england, new jersey brace, have the questions of just what is coming. the winds here, some of the streetlights blowing. as of now, we're still waiting for the storm to come. what will it deliver? let's check in with reynolds wolf, who is in kill devils hill, north carolina. give us the latest on the devastation and the sense of what is coming this way. >> reporter: we actually went out and about and actually along parts of highway 158 where it hooks up with n

new jersey transit is shut down. rst time that subways have been shut down due to weather in new york city history. a category 1 70 miles per hour winds is not sounding serious for those in the south, it is for new york. we should mentio the five burroughs including coney island and battery park city and rockaways and the queens, they are under mandatory evacuation . the bridges are a concern. manhattan is an island. in order to get to manhattan and out. you have to travel over a bridge or through a tunnel. bridges will shut down if the winds get to 60 miles per hour or over. think about air travel. five major airports and the three biggest is newark in new jersey and jfk international in new york where rick wright said may be where the city hurricane touches down and then la guardia airport.

. >> a stern evacuation order from new jersey governor chris christie. this morning irene is bearing down on the east coast as a category one hurricane packing sustained winds on 90 miles per hour. and more than 60 million americans are bracing for the storm's worst. welcome to msnbc special coverage of hurricane irene. let's get to the headlines. more than two million people along the east coast have been ordered to move to safer areas as the national weather service issues a hurricane warning stretching from north carolina all the way to nantucket. irene is expected to make landfall between 8:00 and 10:00 eastern today in north carolina's outer banks. it could weak on the a tropical storm by the time it reaches new england, experts say irene could be destructive. president obama returned to the white house last night. but not before issuing a warning to residents in irene's path. >> i cannot stress this highly enough. if you are in the projected path of this hurricane, you have to take precautions now. don't wait. don't delay. we all hope for the best,

that includes new jersey, new york, and connecticut.evacuations, those will stay in effect and public transportation will not resume until monday. if you haven't gotten out by now, you better do so soon and the taxis are actually price gouging right now. one of my friends tried to get in a cab and they were charging $10 a person. they know they can because there is really no other way to get around here. martha? >> martha: that's shocking. i cannot believe that the taxicab drivers, knowing that there is absolutely no other form of transportation around the city, are actually price gouging. unbelievable. nobody would believe that happening in new york city. let me ask you about the surrounding areas -- only in new york, kids -- talk to me about the surrounding areas, new jersey, as they prepare for this as well. >> well, like we have here experienced in battery park, low lying areas have been evacuated. right across the river, hudson river to my left, you've got hoboken, they have evacuated low lying areas, also for newark, new jersey. b

at noon, new jersey transit will stop running trainings through trips in progress. they will finish their routes. then the path trains to and from new york city will also stop running at 6:00 p.m. eastern new jersey transit will suspend bus and late rail service. philadelphia, the trains to the city are going to stop running at 11:30 tonight. trains from the city to new jersey are going to stop at 12:05 a.m. sunday morning. at 12:30 a.m. sunday the septa service is to be suspended. further north to connecticut, there's where the governor plans to close the merit and wilbur cross parkways. further north in massachusetts bay transportation authority buses and trains will operate on a normal weekend schedule unless the conditions deteriorate. there was a lot of information there. we're going to try to get that up on our website for you. president obama is monitoring the storm from a white house. he returned a day early from vacation last night. joining me now our msnbc correspondent. >> reporter: good morning. >> things look okay thus far? >> reporter: the wind's are pi

in terms of new jersey transit, the trains are suspended. we were check the long island railroad service. expect some service suspensions there as well. good news for the area airports, ali. as of 6:00 a.m., we are told that you should start seeing some of the airports opening. all of the major airports will be opening today, that includes, of course, laguardia, newark and jfk. all the bridges and tunnels are open and cleared today. remember yesterday the holland tunnel flooded for a certain portion of time. but, obviously, this is a story about commuters. i want to bring in one commuter who stopped and decided to talk with us today. this is ron beau, he came in from long island. your commute went pretty well. >> no trouble daat all. >> what did the train look like? >> it was empty, a little quiet today. >> a lot of people maybe decided to take a three-day weekend. >> i think so. >> yeah. so in terms of talking about the commute, if you weren't able to take the train what would have been your option? >> i would have drove in. >> you're one of

new jersey ball parking its economic losses. new york just about $2 billion.r predicting $282 million in damage. so many in connecticut still without power. fewer than half of those number are losses that were insured. the numbers also expected to increase significantly as we move through the week and reveal everything. martha: forecasters are watching another storm that is moving fairly quickly across the atlantic now. it is tropical storm katya. it's west-southwest of the cape verde islands. it's expected to approach hurricane strength by wednesday or thursday. too early to tell if this will have any threat value for the united states. as for the storm's name katia replaces katrina in the rotating storm roster the name was retired after the 2005 hurricane. katrina that devastated new orleans. we hope katia is not the little sister. bill: presidential candidate texas governor rick perry pulling in huge numbers over mitt romney. perry taking in 27% to romney's 14%. it nearly doubled for perry. this is as romney convenient tiewrs onto perry's turf to address th

in new jersey, seton hall, new jersey, called off its convocation.ticut, the women canceled. they canceled the dedication ceremonies for the martin luther king jr memorial. at a time when president obama's relationship had been strained over issues like painfully high unemployment in the african-american community. african-americans a key consistency for the democratic party every year. especially when president obama has begun his campaign for re-election. black turnout was high in key states making a difference in '08 in places like virginia and ohio, hence the expectations for this major address. now the dedication of the king memorial and major speech from the president with it will have to wait for a sunnier and less stormy day. in new york city they are cancelling everything from mets game to broadway to david matthews concert. mayor bloomberg ordered the first mandatory evacuations in new york city and revoked the permits for 300 new york city events this weekend. 300. all scheduled for this weekend. the mayor announced the subway system will

hurricane watches and warnings are posted from north carolina to new jersey. roughout the area have declared states of emergency. stay with cbs news as we continue to track the hurricane in the days ahead. for now, that's the "cbs evening news." and for all of us at cbs news all around the world, good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org a >>> every time an out-of-state company moves a job out of california, then they get a tax break. >> new at 6:00, $1 billion to put more californians back to work. with the state already billions in the hole, why governor brown thinks his new plan will work. >>> barry bonds goes to bat again. the 75 seconds that could be a game changer as he fights to

now to new jersey where governor chris christie is talking. let's listen in. >> as part of the team is our fema coordinating officer big vogel. bill has been already instrumental in helping us move through this part of the process and having him here representing fema as a toms river native is particularly helpful to us. bill, thank you very much, for being here and being part of the team. secondly, this morning, i conducted a series of conference calls with mayors and local officials in atlantic, monmouth, ocean and cape may counties. the purpose of the phone calls was, first, to allow them to communicate to us about issues they might be of concern to them where they either had not gotten responses from the county oem and to get reports from them on conditions on the ground and those four counties where we have ordered a number of mandatory evacuations. the good news is that people heeded my subtle advice yesterday. they are off the beach. people have left the shore, the evacuation process has been successful. over a million people have left

so we are very, very lucky. >> reporter: in northern new jersey, floodwaters nearly swallowed cars. cbs news early show anchor chris wragge spent nearly 24 hours driving along the jersey shore. >> you can see now we've got the water coming over the retaining walls here, at the avon by the sea. >> reporter: throughout the state broken streetlights, downed power lines, and fallen trees dotted irene's path. and in atlantic city, all 12 casinos were forced to shut down in anticipation of irene. keeping away paying customers in a town usually filled with tourists. and no doubt the biggest blow to the state will be financial, with mass evacuations, russ, bringing business to a stand still. >> mitchell: any word on when those casinos will reopen? >> actually, here in atlantic city they are actually expected to reopen tomorrow but there's still no word russ on when people living in some of those coastal communities can return back home. >> mitchell: in atlantic city, thank you very much. cbs news hurricane consultant david bernard is in miami where he has been tracking irene every step of th

york, even new hampshire but it's clearly left a lasting market on states south. >> we're talking new jersey irene made landfall again sunday morning, windy, wet and destructive. but it was slightly more subdued. quickly downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm as it's wind speeds fell below 75 miles per hour. as it hit new york city, the worst problem was flooding. storm surges in the east river and hudson subamerimerged low l areas and water front walkways under water. to the east in long beach, the advancing atlantic swallowed 10 to 15 foot berms to hold it back, pushing one building into the boardwalk. >> those waves are massive. that surf is absolutely pounding the shoreline and has completely wiped out the manmade they put up to protect this hotel and this boardwalk and that town. >> reporter: people in low lying areas had been told to evacuate in advance of the storm. those who chose to stay quickly found themselves in situations like this, trapped by riding waters. rescue crews used books in new york on sunday morning to ferry people to safety. in new jersey, water inundated a

entire communities in the suburbs after sparing much of new york city. >> in upstate new york, new jerseynnsylvania, waters are still rising after irene's historic flash floods, and the twors mwo still be to come. it is monday, august 29th. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." >>> what a weekend it's been. >> good morning, i'm rob nelson. >> and i'm tanya rivero. and it was irene's gust y winds causing aggravation on long island this morning. nearly a half million homes and businesses have no power and the utility company says it is the worst outage there in 20 years. but the biggest problems are inland, where entire towns are under water. >> the height of the storm, too, they're almost, i think, 5 million people without power in the northeast here. rivers are still rising at this point. like we said, the worst is yet to come. we'll have the latest on that. >> impressive damage. >>> later in this half hour, while irene delivered, some moms were delivering bundles of joy. why babies always seem to arrive in numbers during times when hurricanes strike. very cute story ther