LEXINGTON, N.C. — A day after deadly tornadoes struck the Southeast, survivors looked for what they could salvage, huddled in loved ones’ hospital rooms and shared stories of how they made it through the furious storms.
BUXTON, N.C. — A monstrous Hurricane Irene tightened its aim on the Eastern Seaboard on Thursday, threatening 65 million people along a shore-hugging path from North Carolina to New England. One of the nation’s top experts called it his “nightmare” scenario. The Category 3 storm with winds of 115 mph — the threshold for a major hurricane — would be the strongest to strike the East Coast in seven years, and people were already getting out of the way.