WASHINGTON — Already a killer storm, Hurricane Irene sloshed into the New York metropolitan area Sunday, adhering to a course that pushed mountains of seawater – and vast volumes of rain – into the city, many of its suburbs and much of the surrounding region.

“The flooding will be epic and there will be water in places you never dreamed,” said forecaster Eric Blake of the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Even before Irene reached one of the nation’s most heavily populated regions, at least eight deaths were attributed to the storm, a summer weekend terror that clung to, ravaged and swamped the East Coast from North Carolina all the way to New England.

Outages cut power to more than 2 million customers, complicating efforts to prepare for or recover from the storm. Trees crashed to the ground and roofs flew away and sea water invaded buildings once thought safely distant from the coast.

Meteorologists said Irene’s core made a second landfall near Little Egg Inlet, N.J., north of Atlantic City, at 5:35 a.m. EDT Sunday, as a minimal Category 1 hurricane with 75 mph sustained wind.

Irene’s course carried the center right along New Jersey’s coast, completely through or perilously close to the New York boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, and then into Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and points north. Tornado warnings flashed through the region.

Manhattan’s usually busy streets were eerily empty, few people in sight, the entire city pounded by gray sheets of rain and bursts of wind that swirled around tall buildings and sought paths of escape. Rising water blocked several roads and intersections.

Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers evacuated homes near the shore. At least one hospital closed, moving patients to locations farther from sources of flooding. The city’s vast subway and bus system halted operations for the duration.

“The time for evacuation is over,” New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg told residents late Saturday. “Everyone should now go inside and stay inside.”

In Lower Manhattan, surrounded by the East River, the Hudson River and a wide bay, particular concern focused on Wall Street and the rest of the financial district. By 9 a.m. Sunday, both rivers had overtopped its banks, storm sewers began backing up and two feet of water accumulated into the area.

Along the metropolitan area’s Atlantic coast, Irene’s storm surge pushed water into local streets. Portions of Coney Island flooded and a two-story lifeguard shack in Long Beach left its moorings and slammed into the boardwalk.

As Irene’s center approached, New York’s LaGuardia Airport reported sustained wind of 41 mph and gusts of 64 mph. A gust of 58 mph rocked John F. Kennedy International Airport. Those airports and others throughout the region were closed and airlines cancelled 9,000 flights.

Though experts worried about the impact even a minimal hurricane’s wind could have on the region’s skyscrapers and other tall buildings, the deepest concern focused on flooding, both along the coast and deep inland.

Irene’s course, counter-clockwise circulation and wide girth combined to push immense quantities of sea water onto the low-lying shores of New Jersey, the New York metropolitan area, including Long Island, and much of the rest of the region.

Water levels rose rapidly, with nearly four-foot storm surges reported Sunday morning at Sandy Hook, N.J., Cape May, N.J., and the famed New York Harbor.

Atop of that came the rain – up to 15 inches of it – another source of anxiety, especially inland.

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