Images: Hurricane Irene closes in on the U.S.
Nags Head Ocean Rescue lifeguards Ben Mechak, left, an Erika Audfroid hoist a no swimming flag in Nags Head, N.C., Friday, Aug. 26, 2011 as Hurricane Irene takes aim at the North Carolina coast. The full force of Hurricane Irene was still a day away from the East Coast but heightened waves began hitting North Carolinas Outer Banks early Friday.
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A surfer hits the break of an eight-foot wave at Folly Beach in Charleston, S.C., Friday, Aug. 26, 2011, as Hurricane Irene causes larger than normal swells along the South Carolina coast. Hurricane warnings remained in effect from North Carolina to New Jersey. Hurricane watches were in effect even farther north and included Long Island, Marthas Vineyard and Nantucket, Mass.
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Sport utility vehicles pulling pleasure boats drive in lines of traffic headed north on the Garden State Parkway across the Great Egg Harbor Bay Inlet Bridge, Friday, Aug. 26, 2011, near Ocean City, N.J., as much of the Jersey shore evacuates inland ahead of Hurricane Irene.
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Hurricane specialist Dan Brown reviews the tracks and intensity of Hurricane Irene at the National Hurricane Center on Friday, August 26, 2011, in Miami. The hurricane warning was extended into the Chesapeake Bay as far as Drum Point, and existing warnings remained in effect from North Carolina to New Jersey. A hurricane watch was in effect even farther north and included Long Island, Marthas Vineyard and Nantucket, Mass.
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People buy generators and plywood boards as they prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Irene in Kitty Hawk, N.C., Friday, Aug. 26, 2011 on North Carolinas Outer Banks.
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Nags Head police officer Edward Mann speaks with resident Debbie Hickey about Hurricane Irene as it approaches the Outer Banks in Nags Head, N.C., Friday, Aug. 26, 2011. Mann was warning residents who have not evacuated that assistance will be limited after the storm winds reach 60 miles per hour.
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A member of the Tybee Island Ocean Rescue team closes the water to swimmers in Tybee Island, Ga., Friday, Aug. 26, 2011. Due to high waves and hazardous rip currents from the outer bands of Hurricane Irene, the lifeguards decided to close the water to swimmers. Surfers, kayakers and paddle boarders still brave the waves.
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Tom Gemkow carries a shutter that he removed from his mothers house in Cape May, N.J., Friday, Aug. 26, 2011, after boarding a window in preparation for Hurricane Irene. Mandatory evacuations were under way Friday affecting nearly 1 million residents and visitors in Cape May County, coastal Atlantic County and Long Beach Island NJ.
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Marvin Hardy drives screws into a sheet of plywood on Washington Mall in Cape May, N.J., Friday, Aug. 26, 2011, as he boards up store fronts in preparation for Hurricane Irene. Mandatory evacuations were under way Friday affecting nearly 1 million residents and visitors in Cape May County, coastal Atlantic County and Long Beach Island NJ.
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Fisherman Bill Sweeney, of Vineyard Haven, Mass., collects adult scallops from cages in Lagoon Pond, in Vineyard Haven, on the island of Marthas Vineyard, Friday, Aug. 26, 2011. Sweeney removed the scallops, where they were placed to spawn, to be released back in the wild in advance of Hurricane Irene. The scallops could be killed if left in the traps during a hurricane.
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Residents and vacationers line up to buy ice in Atlantic Beach, N.C., Friday, Aug. 26, 2011 as Hurricane Irene heads toward the North Carolina coast.
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A surfer paddles out hoping to catch some big waves ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Irene in Nags Head, N.C., Friday, Aug. 26, 2011 on North Carolinas Outer Banks.
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Mike Small, of Morehead City, N.C., loads bags of ice into his truck in Atlantic Beach, N.C., Friday, Aug. 26, 2011 as Hurricane Irene heads toward the North Carolina coast. Hurricane warnings remained in effect from North Carolina to New Jersey. Hurricane watches were in effect even farther north and included Long Island, Marthas Vineyard and Nantucket, Mass.
Associated Press
A lone beachgoer is seen in Nags Head, N.C., Friday, Aug. 26, 2011 after evacuations in preparation for Hurricane Irene have left the area mostly deserted. The full force of Hurricane Irene was still a day away from the East Coast but heightened waves began hitting North Carolinas Outer Banks early Friday.
Associated Press
People take sandbags off a truck as residents prepare for Hurricane Irene in Annapolis, Md., Friday, Aug. 26, 2011.
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Although the Tybee Island Ocean Rescue lifeguards closed the water to swimmers on Tybee Island, Ga., surfers, kayakers and paddle boarders still seek the thrill of high winds and choppy waves Friday, Aug. 26, 2011. Due to high waves and hazardous rip currents from the outer bands of Hurricane Irene, the lifeguards decided to close the water to swimmers.
Associated Press
A surfer catches a rare 12-foot wave at Folly Beach in Charleston, S.C., Friday, Aug. 26, 2011, as Hurricane Irene causes larger than normal swells along the South Carolina coast. Hurricane warnings remained in effect from North Carolina to New Jersey. Hurricane watches were in effect even farther north and included Long Island, Marthas Vineyard and Nantucket, Mass.
Associated Press
Tybee Island Ocean Rescue lifeguard Andrew Robinson watches surfers with a pair of binoculars after closing the water to swimmers from on the pier in Tybee Island, Ga., Friday, Aug. 26, 2011. Due to high waves and hazardous rip currents from the outer bands of Hurricane Irene, the lifeguards decided to close the water to swimmers. Surfers, kayakers and paddle boarders still brave the waves.
Associated Press
Jim Blahut of Perennial Homes boards up the windows at Williams Cottage Inn, as residents prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Irene makes its way up the east coast, Friday Aug. 26, 2011 in Beach Haven, NJ. The building is circa 1886 and was renovated and opened as a bed and breakfast in 2007.
Associated Press