A look at Irene's wake -- and what's ahead

RIGHT NOW:

- THE STORM - Irene continues to weaken as it passes over New England.

- NYC EVACUATIONS - The mayor says NYC residents who evacuated as Irene approached can return home at 3 p.m.

AHEAD OF THE STORM:

- CANADA - The storm is expected to move over eastern Canada by Sunday night.

BEHIND THE STORM:

- NEW YORK - Firefighters rescued dozens of people from flooded homes on Staten Island, residents removed garbage and debris from clogged sewer gates and once-quiet roads became busier soon after Irene crossed New York as a powerful tropical storm.

- NATIONAL GUARD - At least 7,500 National Guard troops have deployed to provide help to states affected by the storm.

- DEATHS -Hurricane Irene had led to the deaths of 15 people in seven states as of Sunday afternoon.

- WASHINGTON, D.C. - Irene forced postponement of Sunday's dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. At least 36,000 homes and businesses without power.

- POWER OUTAGES - More than four million homes and businesses have lost power. Utility workers fan out along to restore power to those left in dark.

- SHELTERS - The American Red Cross had well over 150 shelters open from North Carolina to Connecticut.

- OUTER BANKS - Irene made its official landfall just after first light near Cape Lookout, N.C., at the southern end of the Outer Banks, the ribbon of land that bows out into the Atlantic Ocean. Shorefront hotels and houses were lashed with waves. Two piers were destroyed, and at least one hospital was forced to run on generator power.

- BAHAMAS - Small islands face big clean up after taking the brunt of Hurricane Irene's destructive passage over Bahamas, experiencing whipped by winds that exceeded 120 mph.

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