Six states along the east coast of the US, from North Carolina to New York, have declared emergencies ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Irene.

The first hurricane of the Atlantic season weakened slightly early on Friday to a category two storm, with winds of up to 110mph (175km/h).

Mandatory evacuations have been ordered in parts of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and North Carolina.

Irene, now leaving the Bahamas, has already caused havoc in the Caribbean.

States of emergency have been declared in North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey and New York.

President Barack Obama also declared an emergency in North Carolina, where Irene is due to make landfall first, on Saturday afternoon.

The move allows greater co-ordination between state and US federal disaster management authorities.

"In this emergency I am activating all levels of state government to prepare for any situation that may be caused by Hurricane Irene," said New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

In Washington DC, which is under a tropical storm watch, Sunday's scheduled dedication of the newly opened memorial for Martin Luther King Jr - which President Barack Obama had been expected to attend - has been postponed until at least September.

Huge wind span

At 20:00 EDT on Thursday (00:00 GMT on Friday), Irene was gradually moving away from Abaco Island in the Bahamas, and remained 550 miles south south-west of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, said the US National Hurricane Center.

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