In North Carolina, tourists on Ocracoke Island, which is accessible only by boat, have been told to evacuate ahead of the hurricane. It will be a test of whether people in the crosshairs of what could be the first monstrous storm in years along the East Coast will heed orders to get out of the way.
People throughout the region were stocking up on food, boarded windows and gassed up their cars Tuesday as Hurricane Irene threatened to become the most powerful storm to hit the East Coast in seven years.
Water, bread and batteries disappeared from store shelves. Lines formed at the pump. From Florida to Maine, residents were told to brace for flash flooding and power outages.
Hundreds of miles south, Irene swirled through the Caribbean, giving a glimpse of what was to come. Homes were inundated with water, residents took refuge in schools and churches, and more than a million people were without electricity. One woman was killed in Puerto Rico. READ FULL STORY
