NU Online News Service, Aug. 26, 4:15 p.m.EDT

Citing an increased risk of winds and high waters from HurricaneIrene, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has issued thecity's first-ever mandatory evacuation order for large partsof the city.

“Hurricane Irene is now bearing down on us at a faster speedthan it was yesterday,” said Bloomberg during a press conferencethis afternoon. “We are today issuing a mandatory – I repeat theword mandatory – evacuation order for all New Yorkers who live inthe low-lying Zone A coastal areas in all five boroughs that are atgreatest risk of damage relating to Irene, and we're adding to thatthe rest of the Rockaways, some of which are not Zone A, but areZone B.”

Specifically, Bloomberg said all residents in Zone A coastalareas and all parts of the Rockaways in Queens were required toevacuate their premises by 5pm Saturday. The mayor encouraged thoseaffected by the evacuation order to find a safe area now, andannounced the immediate opening of 91 evacuation centers/emergencyshelters.

The city is also making plans to accommodate the homeless aswell as seniors, hospital patients, those with disabilities, andother at-risk citizens.

“We have never done a mandatory evacuation before – and wewouldn't be doing this now if we didn't think the storm had thepotential to be very serious,” says Bloomberg. “We have to preparefor the worst and hope for the best.”

According to AIR Worldwide, Hurricane Irene is expected tomaintain strength as a Category Two storm over the next 24 hours.Forecasts call for the storm to arrive at North Carolina reachingthe Outer Banks around 2 p.m. Saturday. Its track is expected tomake a second landfall somewhere between New Jersey and Cape Cod,most likely striking Long Island around 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon.The major cities of New York, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., andBoston are expected to be affected by tropical stormconditions.

AIR's Tim Doggett says in a statement that Irene is currently aCategory 2 storm (sustained winds at 105 mph) and is expected toweaken to a Category 1 by second landfall. However, the trackremains uncertain and there is the possibility the storm could movemore over water and gain intensity.