As Hurricane Irene rumbles steadily closer to New York City, some evacuations have already begun.

Staten Island University Hospital and Coney Island Hospital have begun evacuating patients to vacant beds at medical centers on higher ground. NYU Hospitals Center and Veterans Administration Medical Center are the other hospitals in the evacuation zone, according to the New York City Office of Emergency Management.

At Staten Island University Hosptial, the evacuation began Thursday night. The first ones out: Newborns in the neonatal unit, who were taken to Cohen Children’s Hospital in Lake Success, Long Island, reported the Staten Island Advance.

SIUH will begin the evacuation of its general population this morning. Patients will be discharged when possible, or sent to a variety of other hospitals and nursing homes that are part of the North Shore-LIJ system. That includes hospitals in Manhassaet, Plainview, Syosset and Huntington on Long Island, the Advance reported.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered some hospitals, nursing homes and senior centers in the most flood-prone areas of the city to be evacuated by 8 p.m. Friday.

If those facilities choose not to evacuate, they would need to coordinate their decisions in conjunction with city Health Commissioner Thomas Farley, Bloomberg said.

In the event further evacuations are ordered, officials want New Yorkers to be familiar with the evacuation zones. The most likely areas to be evacuated are Battery Park City and parts of Lower Manhattan, the Rockaways, Coney Island. Those locations are part of what is called Zone A.

Irene actually weakened a bit overnight, dropping to a Category 2 storm. That means it is packing winds of up to 110 mph. It is still barreling toward North Carolina. It is possible that it will gather strength again.

By the time Irene hits New York, it is expected to bring at least Tropical Storm-force winds of at least 75-90 mph and up to 7-10 inches of rain.

(Source: WCBSTV)