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| Residents look on as waves hit the pier at Cape Hatteras National Seashore in Avon, North Carolina on August 26, 2011. (Reuters/Jose Luis Magana) |
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| Tricia Straight and her boyfriend Steven Scovell share a kiss as heavy winds and rain move in to the state from Hurricane Irene, on Wrightville Beach, NC on August 26, 2011. (Reuters/Randall Hill) |
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| Angela and Jimmy Dalessio strap plywood to the roof of their car as they prepare to board up their home before Hurricane Irene arrives August 26, 2011 in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Dare County, which includes the vacation towns of Nags Head, Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills, has ordered a mandatory evacuation of tourists and residents as Hurricane Irene strengthens and moves closer to the area. (AFP/Scott Olson) |
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| Beach goers get caught in a squall as feeder bands from Hurricane Irene begin to pound Atlantic Beach, North Carolina on August 26, 2011. (Reuters/Steve Nesius) |
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| Lilyana Fowler (L) and Isabella Lugli brace themselves as a wave bursts onto a pier at the Boynton Beach in Boynton Beach, Florida. (AFP/Joe Raedle) |
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| Residents look on as waves hit the pier at Cape Hatteras National Seashore in Avon, North Carolina on August 26, 2011. (Reuters/Jose Luis Magana) |
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| Isabella Lugli braces herself as a wave bursts onto a pier at the Boynton Beach on August 25, 2011 in Boynton Beach, Florida. (AFP/Joe Raedle) |
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| Residents look on as waves hit the pier at Cape Hatteras National Seashore in Avon, North Carolina. (Reuters/Jose Luis Magana) |
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| Karlie Philips writes on the boards of her boarded home as her daughter Kylie looks on, at Cape Hatteras National Seashore in Salvo, North Carolina, as hurricane Irene approaches. (Reuters/Jose Luis Magana) |
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| People fill up bags with sand,in preparation for Hurricane Irene in Ocean City, Maryland on August 26, 2011. Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan has ordered a mandatory evacuation for thousands of residents and visitors to leave the ocean front community and Maryland's Governor O'Malley has declared a state of emergency as Hurricane Irene moves up the eastern seaboard. (AFP/Mark Wilson) |
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| Storm surf pounds a fishing pier a day before the landfall of Hurricane Irene in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina on August 26, 2011. (Reuters/Steve Nesius) |
