President Barack Obama has warned that Hurricane Irene, currently looming off the east coast of the US, could be a “historic” storm.
Mandatory evacuations have been ordered in parts of four states and in low lying areas of New York City.
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Seven states from North Carolina to Connecticut have declared emergencies ahead of Irene’s arrival.
The category two storm has weakened a little and is expected to make landfall with winds of up to 100mph (155km/h).
Irene, which has already caused havoc in the Caribbean, is expected to hit the coast of North Carolina tomorrow before barrelling northwards towards Washington and New York City a day later.
Both cities have now declared states of emergency, with authorities in the capital warning of a shortage of sandbags after high demand.
Amtrak, the US rail network, announced it was cancelling services between Washington and Boston from Saturday, having already suspended operations south to Virginia and beyond.
