Hurricane Irene Strikes Bahamas on Path to U.S. East Coast

Hurricane Irene, the strongest Atlantic storm to threaten the U.S. since 2005, battered the Bahamas on a course that’s expected to take it near North Carolina this weekend and New England next week.

Hurricane watches are in force for the North Carolina coast as 115 miles-per-hour (185 kilometers per hour) winds ripped through the Bahamas, damaging homes, felling trees and triggering flooding, according to the Bahamas Emergency Management Agency. The storm is 670 miles south of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said at 8 a.m., and is moving northwest at 13 mph on a path that will take it along the U.S. Northeast coast this weekend.