in nags head frank was cleaning out his garage. it was swamped. >> actually the waves made it worse. it was about two, three foot waves just breaking right at the garage door and coming in, and nothing i could do about that. >> reporter: to the north as irene hit virginia it was still a hurricane packing a still powerful punch. the relentless surf knocked out a virginia beach pier, led to a mid-storm rescue of a couple and their cat strand odd a sailboat. winds tore the roof off this beachside house. in ocean city, maryland. s tourists evacuated, the boardwalk was buried in sand, but no significant destruction, and the boardwalk was back open for business. >> it was a long night last night, but i can tell you we dodged a missile here in ocean city. irene created a twister in delaware, that destroyed a home and damaged a dozen more. in washington old glory over the capital was tattered, but still