(AP) -- Forecasters say the center of Hurricane Irene is passing near Cape Lookout on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
The National Hurricane Center said early Saturday morning that Irene's eye passed near the southern tip of the Outer Banks.
The eye of the storm is typically calm, but the storm's wind and rain are far from over.
Forecasters say Irene's maximum sustained winds were at 90 mph.
After lashing the North Carolina coast, the powerful storm is expected to churn its way along the East Coast.
In its way are some of the most populated areas in the U.S. with some 65 million people.
More than 2 million people were told to move to safer places. In North Carolina, flooding and storm surge are of utmost concern.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
