hurricane irene, now officially made landfall as a category 1 storm on the east coast of the united states. the most up-to-date satellite image we can show you now of re irene, showing wear and tear, described as sloppy, not very well organized but starting to get more disorganized. you can see it there, it was a more organized storm over the past couple of days but as it s making landfall now and making its way up the east coast maybe not so much so. it has been lashing out at the carolina shoreline for the past several hours. that is where, again, it it has officially made landfall. the storm surge there is expected to take a toll on outer banks and coastal communities. concern shared all the way up and down the east coast right now. more so in cities you can imagine that aren t used to dealideal ing with hurricanes, like new york city. been some time since they ve had to deal with a direct hit from hurricanes. this storm could be head toward parts of lower manhattan, could
i m t.j. holmes bringing you the latest on the massive storm. hurricane irene that could affect about 20% of the population of the united states. here you are getting a look at the path of the storm. the projected path of the storm right now. some 65 million people are being threatened by this storm. it s in some of the largest cities of the country that are under threat of the storm. we are talking about new york, washington d.c., baltimore, boston, philadelphia. all areas not accustomed, necessarily, to being ready for hurricanes. hurricane irene is now a category one storm. it is on the north/northeastern path. it has been downgraded to a category one storm, but do not let that fool you. this is still a massive and powerful storm which is on the higher end of the category one strength. it did weaken overnight. it weakened somewhat overnight. still has sustained winds that are around 90 miles an hour. that is on the higher end of a category one storm. you have hurricane war
international, who are watching our special coverage of hurricane irene, a category 1 storm, a massive storm that is on its move, up the eastern seaboard. it came ashore a couple of hours ago, making landfall near camp lookout, north carolina. there s new video we are getting from nearby, atlantic beach shows you what irene has left behind already in some areas. the hurricane storm surge swamping the town with ocean water. also, irene is spinning its way northward to some of the biggest cities on the eastern coast of the united states. cities like new york, washington, baltimore, boston, cities that aren t used to being prepared for a hurricane. they could all get slammed by this storm this weekend. right now, irene, a category 1 storm, it is pushing sustained winds of about 85 miles an hour. irene has also claimed at least one life in north carolina. we do have special hurricane coverage for you this morning that spans that coastline, from north carolina all the way up the a
nursing homes and hospitals, have been phenomenally cooperative. it has gone so smoothly. they all deserve a lot of credit. hopefully this will have been for naught, but we cannot take risks, particularly with the most vulnerable. we wanted to do those first, and that s basically been accomplished. we do not incidentally recommend that anybody wait forz a bus to evacua evacuate. the best thing to do is to use your own or public transportation to get yourself to a shelter, and that means you ve got to do that right now. 2 1/2 hours left for mass transit. city employees, if you volunteered to help serve in the shelters today, we need you to report to your sites now. it is going to be very difficult to get to or from these sites, and when with people show up really will make a difference. to those city ployees who volunteered, thank you so much for doing so, but we need you to start making that trip. bring some stuff with you if you have to stay for a while, but you really are g
good morning to you all. i m t.j. holmes. welcome to our viewers watching us in the u.s. and around the world, as we continue to follow a category 1 storm, hurricane irene, that is threatening about 20% of the u.s. population. some 65 million people in its path. it has been hammering north carolina with heavy rains and fierce winds for past several hours. it was just a couple of hours ago that it officially made landfall in north carolina. more than 200,000 people are without power as we speak, and the path of destruction is spreading as this storm continues to move north. major northeastern cities are in its sights, cities that aren t used to being tested for their hurricane preparedness. talking about washington, d.c., boston, new york city, as well. in fact, in some low-lying areas of new york, there has been an unprecedented mandatory evacuation in several places. that evacuation order is still in place, and some of those evacuations still underway. hospital patients, res