Irene pushes into East Coast – in pictures

A taxi 42nd Street at Times Square in New York as rain falls before hurricane Irene hit. The city was shut down as millions of Americans sought shelter from a huge storm that closed transport systems and caused widespread power blackouts Photograph: Peter Jones/Reuters

Branches litter an alley after hurricane Irene swept through Virginia Beach, VA. The hurricane made landfall in North Carolina and Virginia early on Saturday before moving up the coast Photograph: Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images

Police survey downed trees on Grand Street on Manhattan's east side after hurricane Irene passed over New York Photograph: Mike Segar/Reuters

A car is buffeted by strong winds and ocean spray from Irene while driving on a coastal road in Oak Bluffs, Massachussetts, on the island of Martha's Vineyard Photograph: Steven Senne/AP

Mark Wade trips into a puddle while surfing with his friend Craig Busick in Centreville, MD Photograph: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

A flooded road in Hatteras Island, NC after hurricane Irene swept through the area Photograph: Jim R Bounds/AP

A taxi stands in floodwater as Hurricane Irene brings heavy rain to Brooklyn Photograph: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images

Denise Robinson clears out her destroyed beach home in Virginia Beach Photograph: Steve Helber/AP

A man walks across 42nd Street and Times Square in New York as Hurricane Irene hits the city Photograph: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images

A Hasidic Jew makes his way home as Hurricane Irene brings heavy rain to Brooklyn Photograph: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images

Workmen install plywood over the windows of Bloomingdale's department store in New York Photograph: Karly Domb Sadof/AP

A woman is helped across the street while heading to Seward Park high school, a designated evacuation centre Photograph: Andrew Burton/Getty Images

People sheltering at Penn Station in New York grab some shuteye Photograph: Chelsea Matiash/AP

Shoppers stock up on food and supplies at a grocery store with rapidly emptying shelves in North Carolina Photograph: Karly Domb Sadof/AP

A police car passes the spot where an 11-year-old boy died when a large tree felled by winds from Hurricane Irene collapsed on to his apartment building in Newport News, Virginia Photograph: Lee Celano/Reuters

The Albemarle Sound floods Miller's Restaurant in Nags Head, North Carolina Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA

Two men use a boat to explore a flooded street in Manteo, North Carolina Photograph: John Bazemore/AP

The Albemarle Sound floods the Nags Head-Manteo causeway in Nags Head, North Carolina Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA

Residents wade through floodwater as they survey damage to the town of Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina Photograph: Scott Olson/Getty Images

An employee boards up the windows of a store in Amagansett, East Hampton, New York Photograph: Lucas Jackson/Reuters