US east coast girds for Hurricane Irene

Hurricane Irene began lashing the North Carolina shore on Saturday, foreshadowing with brutal authority what is to come as this vast storm, its most forceful winds stretching outward for 90 miles, churned north toward New York.

Workers board up the Apple Store in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC

A woman tans on a empty beach at Coney Island in New York as Hurricane Irene continued toward the east coast.

A signs annouces that the beach is closed along the ocean broadwalk on Coney Island, an area under mandatory evacuation ahead of Hurricane Irene, in New York.

'Goodnight Irene' is spray painted on boards covering a window at a hardware shop on August 27, 2011 in Montauk, New York in preparation for Hurricane Irene.

US President Barack Obama listens as Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate (R) updates representatives from various US safety agencies, including US Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano (3rdR), regarding Hurricane Irene.

Storm clouds loom over the Montauk lighthouse as hurricane Irene makes its way up the East coast.

The Wall Street bronze Bull looks out to an empty Broadway in Lower Manhattan, New York.

A person makes their way in the rain in Times Square in New York as Hurricane Irene hits the city and Tri State area with rain and high winds.

Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge are hit by Hurricane Irene, in New York.

People walk around in the rain in Times Square in New York on August 28, 2011 as Hurricane Irene hits the city and Tri State area with rain and high winds.

Palm trees blow in the wind in Kill Devil Hills on as Hurricane Irene approaches the northern Outer Banks of North Carolina.

An Army truck plows through a flooded road as Hurricane Irene arrives on August 28, 2011 in Southampton, New York.

Margene Jezo of Kitty Hawk goes for a 6-mile jog as Hurricane Irene lashes the Outer Banks in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

Waves crash around a home as Hurricane Irene arrives on August 28, 2011 in Southampton, New York.

The Albemarle Sound floods vehicles outside a Dairy Queen shortly after Hurricane Irene barreled through the Outer Banks in Nags Head, North Carolina.

A fallen basketball hoop lies on the ground in front of a house in Kill Devil Hills as Hurricane Irene approaches the northern Outer Banks of North Carolina.

A sailboat is washed ashore as Hurricane Irene arrives on August 28, 2011 in Southampton, New York.

The Atlantic Ocean pours over the beach onto the roadway due to Hurricane Irene's winds August 28, 2011 in Montauk, New York.

A row of beachfront houses, some condemned before the arrival of Hurricane Irene, get lashed by wind, rain, and the rising Atlantic Ocean during the full-force of the hurricane's impact near Nags Head, North Carolina.

Residents look out from their porch at a downed power line lying across the road and a car, in Alexandria, Virginia, August 28, 2011, as residents assess the damage caused by Hurricane Irene

Gary Niren surveys a tree that fell on the house he rents as a result of Hurricane Irene on August 28, 2011 in Virginia Beach, VA.

Branches litter an alley as a result of Hurricane Irene on August 28, 2011 in Virginia Beach, VA.