Ocracoke Island evacuation
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Irene remains on a path that will take the hurricane dangerously close to, if not over, the mid-Atlantic coastline and New York City Saturday night into Sunday, posing a serious danger to millions of people.
Irene could be "once-in-50-year" hurricane for the Northeast from the standpoint of power outages caused by downed trees alone.
The AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center is confident that Irene will strike the Outer Banks of North Carolina on Saturday as a strong Category 3.
Irene could be "once-in-50-year" hurricane for the Northeast from the standpoint of power outages caused by downed trees alone.
The AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center is confident that Irene will strike the Outer Banks of North Carolina on Saturday as a strong Category 3.
© AP Photo/Charles DharapakA message is left for Hurricane Irene on one house, left, as a resident boards up another in anticipation of the arrival of Hurricane Irene in Nags Head, N.C., Thursday, Aug. 25, 2011 on North Carolina's Outer Banks.
Rain began falling along the coasts of North and South Carolina as Irene trudged toward the coast from the Bahamas.
Swells from the hurricane and 6 to 9-foot waves were showing up in North Carolina's Outer Banks early Friday and winds were expected to begin picking up later in the day, said Hal Austin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
Meanwhile, the hurricane warning area was expanded and now covered a large chunk of the East Coast from North Carolina to Sandy Hook, N.J., which is south of New York City. A hurricane watch extended even farther north and included Long Island, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, Mass.
For hundreds of miles, as many as 65 million people along the densely populated East Coast warily waited Friday for a dangerous hurricane that has the potential to inflict billions of dollars in damages anywhere within that urban sprawl that arcs from Washington and Baltimore through Philadelphia, New York, Boston and beyond.
Unusually high tides and potentially unprepared towns might spell disaster
The exact times, places, and intensities of Hurricane Irene's predicted U.S. landfalls are still ripe for revision, but according to meteorologist Keith Blackwell, at least one thing is certain: "It's looking bad." And the moon is at least partly to blame for that cloudy outlook.
Current forecasts suggest Irene will likely make landfall as a major hurricane on North Carolina's Outer Banks barrier islands this weekend, bringing damaging winds and serious flooding to coasts from North Carolina to New England.
Hurricane Irene's center is "likely to go through the Outer Banks and rake the coast all the way up - Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey - all the way up to New England," said Blackwell, of the University of South Alabama's Coastal Weather Research Center.
"Long Island looks like it's really going to be in trouble."
The exact times, places, and intensities of Hurricane Irene's predicted U.S. landfalls are still ripe for revision, but according to meteorologist Keith Blackwell, at least one thing is certain: "It's looking bad." And the moon is at least partly to blame for that cloudy outlook.
Current forecasts suggest Irene will likely make landfall as a major hurricane on North Carolina's Outer Banks barrier islands this weekend, bringing damaging winds and serious flooding to coasts from North Carolina to New England.
© NOAAHurricane Irene churns over the Caribbean Wednesday in an infrared satellite picture.
"Long Island looks like it's really going to be in trouble."
© AP Photo/Mohammad SajjadPeople displaced by last year's floods and living in tents are seen after heavy monsoon rains in Peshawar, Pakistan Thursday, Aug 25, 2011.
The floods hit the remote Kundian Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Wednesday, destroying houses and other infrastructure, said Syed Asghar Ali Shah, the acting head of disaster management in the province.
© AP Photo/Jose Luis MaganaTourist Neil Marcella of Yorktown Va. rides his bike in an empty ferry parking at Cape Hatteras, N.C. as evacuations from Ocracoke Island have begun Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2011 in preparation for Hurricane Irene. Hurricane Irene strengthened to a major Category 3 storm over the Bahamas on Wednesday with the East Coast in its sights.
Hours after a hurricane watch was issued for much of the state's coast, emergency officials expanded evacuation orders to include hundreds of thousands of tourists and locals in four coastal counties. The areas include the barrier island chain known as the Outer Banks, which is expected to take the brunt of Irene's first hit over the weekend.
The governors of North Carolina, Virginia and New Jersey made emergency declarations to free up resources, while the Navy began moving dozens of ships in Irene's path out to sea. And emergency officials all the way to New England were urging residents in low-lying areas to gather supplies and learn the way to a safe location.
The storm is expected to come ashore Saturday in North Carolina with winds of around 115 mph (185 kph). Forecasters predict it will then chug up the East Coast, dumping rain from Virginia to New York City before a much-weakened form trudges through New England.
© Unknown
Secretary of the Nigerian Red Cross Society, Alhaji Adamu Abubakar, disclosed the figures yesterday in Bauchi while answering question from newsmen.
He said: "Among the victims include a mother and her three-year-old child whose house caved in during Sunday's six-hour rains in Kari, a town that is located along a stream in Bauchi state. Another person whose house caved in with him also died instantly while we were carrying out rescue operation."
Abubakar said Kari Primary School had been converted into a camp to provide relief to about 1,800 people who had been displaced by the flood. He said about 150 mud houses and hundreds of livestock and ten cars were washed away by the floods.
Giant hailstones struck parts of China causing damage to cars and buildings.
© Geoff Robins/Canadian PressA police officer surveys tornado damage in Goderich, Ont., on Sunday. One man died, dozens were hurt and the community's downtown was devastated.
The most powerful tornado to hit the province in years swept through the southwestern Ontario town of Goderich Sunday afternoon, killing one person and devastating the picturesque community on the shores of Lake Huron.
Downtown businesses, century-old buildings and several churches lost their roofs and upper floors as the twister ripped through the town.
Images show downed power lines, trees and debris strewn across streets, while witnesses described cars being picked up and thrown like toys.
A rapidly strengthening Hurricane Irene was roaring off the Dominican Republic's northern coast last night, whipping up high waves and torrential downpours on a track that could see it reach the U.S. south-east as a major storm by the end of the week.
Irene grew into a Category 2 hurricane late yesterday and the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said it could reach Category 3 today and possibly become a monster Category 4 storm within 72 hours.
'We didn't anticipate it gaining this much strength this early,' said center meteorologist Chris Landsea, adding that the ocean's warm temperatures and the current atmosphere is 'very conducive' to energising storms.
Forecasters said it could still be that strong when it slams into the U.S., possibly landing in Florida, Georgia, or South Carolina. Irene is expected to rake the Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas today and tomorrow.
Irene grew into a Category 2 hurricane late yesterday and the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said it could reach Category 3 today and possibly become a monster Category 4 storm within 72 hours.
'We didn't anticipate it gaining this much strength this early,' said center meteorologist Chris Landsea, adding that the ocean's warm temperatures and the current atmosphere is 'very conducive' to energising storms.
Forecasters said it could still be that strong when it slams into the U.S., possibly landing in Florida, Georgia, or South Carolina. Irene is expected to rake the Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas today and tomorrow.
© Getty ImagesPanic buying: Residents in West Palm Beach, Florida, are preparing for the arrival of Hurricane Irene as it sweeps through the Caribbean
