Hurricane Irene Hits Atlantic Beach NC

Becareful the Eye of Hurricane Irene has now hit the coast of North Carolina near Cape Lookout with Category 1-force winds of 85 mph.

So far, eastern North Carolina has already seen three tornadoes in the past handful of days, along with the vast majority from the state and places of Maryland and Virginia are beneath tornado watches by way of Sunday. Stacy township, around the coast of North Carolina, is seeing 93 mph wind gusts this morning.

The far end of the fishing pier in Atlantic Beach, N.C. collapsed overnight, ABC News affiliate WTVD reported. The 100-foot long pier is still standing, but its finish has disappeared in to the ocean.

Almost 200,000 houses in North Carolina are experiencing power outages, according to Power Energy. Winds up to 85 mph ripped power lines from their poles, creating a lot of with the shortages. The hardest hit areas were Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach, N.C.