NEW YORK, Aug 28, 2011 (AFP) - Irene weakened to tropical storm status Sunday as it hit New York City, the National Hurricane Center said, but the still powerful storm was flooding parts of lower Manhattan. The Miami-based storm center downgraded the storm from a category one hurricane at 9:00 am (1300 GMT). "Irene has weakened to a tropical storm and the estimated intensity at landfall was 65 miles per hour (104 kilometers)," the hurricane center said on its website. "Center of Irene moves over New York City," it said. The storm lashed Manhattan skyscrapers and caused storm surges that sent water flooding into lower Manhattan and inundating outlying communities, after killing at least nine people along the US east coast.
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