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• New York braced for chaos as hurricane Irene approaches • Subway and bus systems shutting down from noon today • Mayor orders first-ever evacuation in some NYC districts • Read our latest summary here • Read our latest story on Hurricane Irene • Follow me on Twitter @MatthewWells • Email me: matt.wells@guardian.co.uk 6.30am ET: Welcome to our live coverage of Hurricane Irene as it tracks up the eastern coast of the United States and heads for New York. We’ll be liveblogging until the power fails, and hopefully longer. I’m Matt Wells in New York and my colleagues around the city and in Washington DC will be contributing to our coverage. Here’s a summary of where we are now: • Hurricane Irene is about to hit North Carolina. Winds of around 90mph are already thrashing the shoreline. Irene has been downgraded to a category 1 hurricane, but there is still a significant risk of structural damage and flooding to the areas it hits. More than two million people along the east coast of the United States have been told to move inland. There are reports of structural damage in Beaufort and Tyrrell counties in North Carolina. Landfall of the first hurricane to hit the mainland since 2008 is expected in the next half-hour. •  New York is braced for the worst as Irene threatens the city with its first hurricane in decades. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has ordered the evacuation of low-lying areas and, for the first time ever, has shut the subway and bus systems from noon today. The storm is expected to make landfall on Long Island tomorrow. • President Barack Obama has returned to the White House in Washington, cutting short his holiday in Martha’s Vineyard one day early. He has urged residents in affected areas to heed evacuation notices and hurricane warnings, and has signed a state of emergency declaration for New York. “Don’t wait, don’t delay,” he said. •  Amtrak has cancelled all train services in the northeastern corridor. More than 7,000 flights have been cancelled. Hurricane Irene United States Matt Wells guardian.co.uk