AFP/New York

Closed subway at Grand Central Station in New York City yesterday. A system-wide shutdown of the subways, trains and buses of New York City was ordered in preparations of Hurricane Irene
The New York city transport authority yesterday launched an unprecedented shutdown of the subway and bus system ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Irene.
Amid fears that subway tunnels could be flooded, as well as the impact of power cuts, the final trains and buses left depots at 1500 GMT.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) said the system was expected to be at a standstill within a couple of hours. With rain storms already hitting, bus rides were free and no tolls were charged on New York bridges yesterday to help those evacuating low-lying areas.
The hurricane moving up the east coast of the US is expected to hit New York City on Saturday night.
The New York metro is one of the world’s biggest with 468 stations served by some 6,380 subway cars. There are also about 5,900 buses.
The MTA has particular concerns about the 13 subway tunnels that go under the rivers that surround Manhattan. Authorities have also said bridges will close once wind speeds go over 60 miles (96 kilometers) an hour.
No particular traffic problems have been reported, city authorities said.
The city’s three major airports - John F. Kennedy, Newark and LaGuardia - have now closed.
Many airlines cancelled flights to New York, Washington and other eastern US airports as far south as Miami, Florida as Irene charged up the east coast.
British Airways, Air France, American Airlines, Continental and major Asian airlines cancelled scores of flights to and from Europe and Asia, while hundreds of domestic flights fell victim to the killer storm.
New York’s J F Kennedy airport cancelled all arrivals and departures were restricted before the arrival of the storm. The region’s Newark and La Guardia airports saw similar chaos.
An Air France spokesman in Paris said that the company’s flights to and from New York were not expected to resume before tomorrow.