Hurricane Irene: Social Media Shows Calm Before the Storm [PICS]

[Waqas 48]

As Hurricane Irene churns through the North Carolina coast on its way to points north, New York City stands ready for the storm, and all is quiet. It’s like a ghost town.

While power stays on and smartphones stay charged, we’re putting together a gallery of the calm before the storm. We’ll cover the hurricane and its effects from the perspective of social media, so stay with us.

Our gallery will continue to grow as events unfold:

"Irene on the rise" - from Lansdale, Pa.

Courtesy Instagram/dj_kreger_photography

Irene making its way to #manchvegas

Courtesy Instagram/leocasado

Trees are down in NC

Why we have no power still. Tree down on Tennessee Ave. Courtesy Image.ly/Susanjsteward

The hotel sign is down for the count, and drowning.

The New York Times' @brianstelter is reporting on #Irene from the Comfort Inn in Nags Head, N.C. Many news operations are running coverage out of the Comfort Inn. Courtesy Instagram/brianstelter

President Obama visits the National Response Coordination Center @ FEMA HQ

Courtesy Twitter/thewhitehouse

Hillsborough, N.J.: "The hurricane seems weak so far."

Courtesy Instagram/rajonbme

Getting Darker in NYC

Courtesy Playbadger/pr0f3ta

Military assistance in NYC

Courtesy TwitPic/Julie Zeveloff

There is no bread left in Manhattan

Courtesy Instagram/meagancignoli

Empty Streets

Courtesy Flickr/NBCNews

A very empty Penn Station this afternoon

Courtesy Foursquare/Felicia S.

Empty grand central terminal

Courtesy Flickr/MTAPhotos

Sending a message to Irene on Long Island

Southampton village Long Island is boarded up and ready for #Irene. Courtesy Yfrog/RenaudBrothers

ConEd trucks line at Union Square

Courtesy Instagram/stacygreen

Getting ready on the East Village

Courtesy Instagram/idoyany

Will This Help?

Courtesy uPhoto/Simon Lee

Here’s a live stream from New York City, Chelsea Piers, overlooking the Hudson River:

Live video by Ustream

Thanks to Marcus Cohn for the live video feed.

Hurricane Irene makes landfall at Ocracoke Island, Southeast North Carolina:

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