Thousands of evacuees spent the night away from their homes in Central Texas as firefighters tried to control a wind-fueled wildfire that has destroyed nearly 500 homes.
The threat of weekend flash flooding has prompted a state of emergency declaration from Louisiana's governor ahead of a slow-moving tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico.
As emergency airlift operations brought ready-to-eat meals and water to Vermont residents left isolated and desperate, states along the Eastern Seaboard continued to be battered by the after effects of Irene.
New York City transit officials say they've finished an unprecedented shutdown of the nation's biggest system of subways, buses and commuter rails ahead of Hurricane Irene.