Coney Island residents wait for their subway train to leave as they bring along their parakeets while evacuating the Coney Island section of New York Saturday before the arrival of Hurricane Irene. (Photo: AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

RIGHT NOW:

— THE STORM — National Hurricane Center: Irene loses hurricane strength, makes landfall over NY's Coney Island with 65 mph winds. Surge and flood waters crest East River seawall in New York. Up to four million people are currently without power.
— NEW YORK CITY — Streets at edges of NYC start to flood, rain overwhelms parts of sewer system.
— TRAVEL — Airlines scrap more than 9,000 flights this weekend from North Carolina to Boston.

AHEAD OF THE STORM:
— NEW ENGLAND — Irene predicted to reach northern New England by Sunday night.
— BOSTON — Boston transit suspends all service, New York transit remains suspended.
— TORNADOES — Tornado watches and warnings are in effect along the East Coast.
BEHIND THE STORM:
— NATIONAL GUARD — At least 7,500 National Guard troops have deployed to provide help to states affected by the storm.
— DEATHS —Hurricane Irene leads to 9 deaths in 5 states, including from falling trees and fire.
— WASHINGTON, D.C. — Irene forced postponement of Sunday's dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. At least 36,000 homes and businesses without power.
— POWER OUTAGES — At least four million homes and businesses have lost power.
— SHELTERS — The American Red Cross had well over 150 shelters open from North Carolina to Connecticut.
— OUTER BANKS — Irene made its official landfall just after first light near Cape Lookout, N.C., at the southern end of the Outer Banks, the ribbon of land that bows out into the Atlantic Ocean. Shorefront hotels and houses were lashed with waves. Two piers were destroyed, and at least one hospital was forced to run on generator power.
— BAHAMAS — Small islands face big clean up after taking the brunt of Hurricane Irene's destructive passage over Bahamas, experiencing whipped by winds that exceeded 120 mph.