PHOTOS: Hurricane Irene Headed Toward Long Beach

The boardwalk and beach in Long Beach were abuzz with reports Saturday as Hurricane Irene barrels up the coast and is expected to slam into the barrier island Saturday night and Sunday morning.

News vans and satellite dishes from CNN to NBC to News 12 were parked outside the Allegria Hotel on National Boulevard beach, as Al Roker from the Today Show reported from the beach all morning as bands of Irene's rain started to saturate the city.  

Meanwhile, the city streets and parking areas started to look deserted after Nassau County Ed Mangano ordered residents living south of Sunrise Highway to evacuate the area by 5 p.m. Saturday. 

Many storefront windows throughout Park Avenue and beachfront homes were boarded up, as City Manager Charles Theofan told reporters Long Beach can expect winds in excess of 70mph, and sandbags lined the garage doors at some homes in town, as people pulled their vehicles up to the sandy lot on West Broadway at Laurelton Boulevard and filled bags to take home.

Among the other scene in the city on Saturdary afternoon were children and adults alike climing the mounds of sand that city workers created on the beach in areas deemed vulnerable to ocean flooding, and, of course, surfers were out catching the Irene-powered swells.