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Hurricane Irene touches U.S. mainland

27 August 2011 18:28 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Hurricane Irene, which was downgraded to category one, made its first landfall Saturday morning in the U.S. state of North Carolina, crawling up the East Coast as tens of thousands along its projected path were ordered to evacuate, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The National Hurricane Center said Saturday morning the center of Irene made landfall near Cape Lookout in North Carolina, packing sustained winds of 85 miles (136 km) per hour, moving North by Northeast at a speed of 14 mile (22.5 km) per hour.

The hurricane brought some damage to North Carolina. Part of pier of the Atlantic Beach in the state collapsed as howling winds and heavy storm hit overnight, and over 160,000 customers lost power in North Carolina, according to power company Progress Energy.

North Carolina is projected to be the first stop of Irene on U.S. mainland as it roars up the East Coast. Although the storm’s force was downgraded, but the Hurricane Center said it remains a powerful storm.

"Some weakening is expected after Irene reaches the coast of North Carolina," said an update from the center, "but Irene is forecast to remain a hurricane as it moves near or over the mid-Atlantic states and New England."

The hurricane is expected to impact over 55 million people along the East Coast.

President Barack Obama, who cut short his vacation to return to the White House, signed a string of documents overnight, making federal assistance available to states along the East Coast.

The states have been evacuating their residents, and 370,000 were ordered to evacuate from New York alone.