Hurricane Irene, barreling towards the East Coast of the U.S., is expected to down power lines, turn city streets into rivers and threatens to shut down the city that never sleeps.
Irene is currently downgraded to a Category 2 hurricane, although she is still packing ferocious 110 mph winds. Experts say it could muscle back up to a Category 3 storm as it gathers strength while crossing the Atlantic to the U.S. shore.
"I don't see it falling apart. There's nothing in the atmosphere that would kill it altogether," said Bill Read of the National Hurricane Center. "I would prepare for the worst and hope for the best."
Hurricane watches have been extended from North Carolina to New York City and even Boston. States of emergency have been declared in North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and New York. The hurricane is a particularly slow-moving storm and authorities are concerned about how long it may linger over the cities and towns it strikes.
"The magnitude of the potential impact from this is sometimes hard to get your hands on. You've got the storm surge which will be affecting all your coastal communities as you go north. You have all the wet ground, you have the trees with lots of leaves in them and then the tropical storm force to hurricane force winds will start breaking and bringing down those trees and the power lines...so you have almost all the aspects of a hurricane affecting a very large area," said Read on "Good Morning America."
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In a briefing later in the morning, Read said the Northeast corridor could expect up to 10 inches of rain, but since the area's ground is already saturated from heavy rains earlier this week, the ground will not be able to soak up the downpour, causing flash floods. The soggy ground will also make it more likely for trees to come down in high winds, possibly taking out power lines at the same time.
Irene's fury is expected to reach Cape Hatteras, N.C., Saturday afternoon with winds over 100 mph. As the hurricane lashes its way up the coast, New York City and Boston could see tropical storm force winds as high as 70 miles per hour. At least 65 million people live in the path of Irene. Along with the wind will come monsoon like rains.
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"The heavy rain is going to be much heavier than people normally experience in thunderstorms and that leads to the flash flooding," Read said.
Experts say the skyscrapers in New York are built to withstand hurricane force wind, but it is the flooding that is the real problem. Of particular concern is low-lying areas like Battery Park in New York City. Forecasters say Irene's storm surge could send water flowing through Manhattan streets.
Since 1851, New York City has only seen five hurricanes. In the major hurricane of 1821, all of lower Manhattan was under 13 feet of water.
"That's always been one of the big concerns about New York City is you don't think you're a hurricane prone area… But history has shown us we can have serious storm surge flooding in lower Manhattan in those areas. With the subways, all your utilities underground, it could be very, very expensive and very, very devastating, that kind of impact," said Craig Fugate, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
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