The road is washed out on the north end of Route 12 on Hatteras Island, N.C., Aug. 28.

Manhattan is hit by Hurricane Irene on August 28, 2011. A weakened Hurricane Irene hammered Manhattan's skyscrapers with fierce winds and threatened to flood the financial district.

A man walks in the rain in New York City on Sunday morning as the storm hit the city and Tri State area with rain and high winds. Irene weakened to tropical storm status Sunday with 65 mph winds, the National Hurricane Center said.

Rising water laps over the sea wall at Battery Park, Sunday morning in New York City. Hurricane Irene bore down on a dark and quiet New York early Sunday, bringing winds and rapidly rising seawater that threatened parts of the city. The rumble of the subway system was silenced for the first time in years. The city all but shut down for the strongest tropical lashing since the 1980s.

A Libyan rebel fighter sits in the sitting room of Moammar Gadhafi's private plane at the international airport in Tripoli, Aug. 28. The Arabic words translate as "Be thankful and we give you more".

A Libyan rebel fighter sits in a bedroom of Moammar Gadhafi's private plane, at the international airport in Tripoli, Libya, Aug. 28.

Kira Woolard, 4, a resident of Craven County, looks outside during the midst of Hurricane Irene, from the Brinson Elementary School shelter, facilitated by the American Red Cross, near New Bern, N.C.

Kira Woolard, 4, says hello to Mark Sturgill, during the midst of Hurricane Irene.

Betty Hamby, the manager of the Brinson Elementary School shelter in New Bern, N.C, makes calls to better determine the course and damage caused by Hurricane Irene.

A climber ascends the rope at Bondi Beach on April 2, in Sydney, Australia. A group of local Sydney men, including a number of World Record holders, meet three times a week to scale a five-metre rope bare handed. Editor's note: Pictures were converted to black and white and were received Aug. 27.

Climber Marcus Bottay warms up before climbing the rope at Bondi Beach on Aug. 20, in Sydney, Australia.

A climber ascends the rope at Bondi Beach on Aug. 20, in Sydney, Australia.

Two Libyan rebels walk through Gadhafi's secret underground tunnels that line the infamous Bab al-Aziziyia compound on Aug. 26, in Tripoli, Libya. The compound was the physical and psychological base of power for the Gadhafi regime. Earlier this week, the rebellion overran it.

Grand Central Terminal is deserted in New York City on Aug. 27. Metro North has suspended service and Amtrak is running on a reduced schedule due to Hurricane Irene.

Aside from Metro North Police and a handful of employees, Grand Central Terminal sits vacant ahead of Hurricane Irene's landfall in New York on Saturday, Aug. 27. Heeding New York City Mayor Bloomberg's warnings and left with nearly all mass transit offline, streets are nearly empty.

The usually busy schedule board is blank since the New York area's transit system has been shut down starting Saturday.

An army of Con Edison utility trucks prepare for Hurricane Irene in New York City in the event of power outages caused by the large storm expected to hit the city overnight.

Sightseers stroll along a pier as a cruise ship heads out to sea in Jersey City, N.J., on Saturday, August 27. In anticipation of strong winds generated by Hurricane Irene, the Coast Guard ordered large ships, over 500 tons, out of port no later than 6 p.m. on Saturday.

A sightseer captures the dramatic storm clouds above the New York City skyline as Hurricane Irene approaches Saturday.

People board passenger boats as they head back to their hometowns ahead of the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday during dusk at Sadarghat in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Aug. 27.

Young passengers look out of a train window as they leave Pasar Senen train station in Jakarta, Indonesia, Aug. 27. Millions of Indonesian Muslims leave the capital and other major cities to head to their hometowns to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr holiday to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

Indonesian riders queue on their motorbikes as they wait to board a passenger ship at Gilimanuk Port in Jembrana, Bali, Indonesia, Aug. 27. Muslims across Indonesia are moving from major cities back to their home towns, to celebrate the Muslim Eid al-Fitr festival which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

Department of Sanitation workers attach plows to garbage trucks in preparation for Hurricane Irene as the storm approaches New York on Saturday, Aug. 27.

Long lines of city buses wait in line for the bus depot near Broadway and 215th St., after the shutdown of the Metropolitan Transit Authority's mass transit system as Hurricane Irene approaches New York on Saturday, Aug. 27. They are pulling all of the buses off of the city streets and into garages, which many drivers said they had never seen before. These unusual steps are part of the reason why the MTA needed 8 hours to fully shut down the system.

The 215th St. subway station sits empty in northern Manhattan after the shutdown of the Metropolitan Transit Authority's subway system as Hurricane Irene approaches in New York on Saturday, Aug. 27. Threats of severe flooding from the storm resulted in the mandatory evacuation of 250,000 people, the cancellation of over 9,000 flights and the first weather-related complete shutdown of the city's mass transit system.

This September 1938 photo provided by the Boston Public Library shows a damaged ferry boat sitting in shallow water in Providence, R.I., following the deadly hurricane of 1938 that hit the Northeast. It's been nearly 73 years since the Great New England Hurricane of 1938 — one of the most powerful, destructive storms ever to hit southern New England, as another massive storm bears down.

This Sep. 21, 1938 photo shows the Strandway in South Boston with 100-mile-an-hour hurricane winds which struck New England hard. It's been nearly 73 years since the Great New England Hurricane of 1938 — one of the most powerful, destructive storms ever to hit southern New England, as another massive storm bears down.

This 1938 photo provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Dept. of Commerce shows the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries building on the south side of Main Street in Woods Hole, Mass., during the Hurricane of 1938. It's been nearly 73 years since the Great New England Hurricane of 1938 — one of the most powerful, destructive storms ever to hit southern New England, as another massive storm bears down.

German Marcel Kittel of the Skil-Shimano team (R) sprints as he crosses the finish line of the seventh stage of the Vuelta tour of Spain cycling race in Talavera de la Reina on August 26, 2011. Marcel Kittel won the seventh stage of the Tour of Spain in a finish marred by a huge crash that took out several top riders after a 183km ride from from Almaden to Talavera de la Reina.