<p><strong>Beachfront houses in <a href="http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/united-states/north-carolina-guide/">North Carolina</a> stand amid rising waves during the full force of <a href="http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/hurricane-profile/">Hurricane</a> Irene, which made landfall Saturday morning as a Category 1 storm near<a href="http://maps.nationalgeographic.com/map-machine#s=h&amp;c=34.61512668346219,%20-76.50690078"> Cape Lookout</a>. The tempest brought winds of 85 miles (137 kilometers) an hour and flooding. </strong></p><p>So far, thousands of power outages have been reported across the coastal regions of North Carolina and Virginia, and four deaths have been tied to the storm, CBS News reported. (See<a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/08/110826-hurricane-irene-power-outage-storm-tracker-generators-weather-nation/"> "Hurricane Irene to Cause One of Largest Power Outages?"</a>)</p><p>Hurricane Irene is expected to continue its destructive trek up the East Coast over the next two days, and experts say the large, slow-moving storm could still be at hurricane strength when it makes landfall again near<a href="http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/city-guides/new-york-new-york/"> New York City</a>.</p><p><em>With reporting by Willie Drye.<strong><a href="http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2011/08/26/send-your-huricane-video-to-national-geographic-television/"></a></strong></em></p><p><strong><a href="http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2011/08/26/send-your-huricane-video-to-national-geographic-television/">Share your Hurricane Irene video with the National Geographic Channel &gt;&gt;</a></strong><br class="kix-line-break"></p>