[PHOTOS] Hurricane Irene hits U.S. East Coast

Hurricane Irene, the first major hurricane of the 2011 season, made landfall in the United States East Coast over the weekend causing at least 15 deaths, severe flooding, and widespread destruction in several U.S. states, with financial losses estimated to reach around $5-10 billion.

Hurricane Irene first made landfall over Eastern North Carolina and Southeastern Virginia on August 27 destroying buildings and leaving millions without power. It made its second landfall in New Jersey on August 28, the first hurricane to make a landfall in the Garden State in more than century. Its third landfall was in New York, where more than 370,000 residents were told to evacuate in anticipation of the hurricane.

As of this writing, at least 15 deaths were reported in seven states with the fatalities mainly due to flooding and falling trees.

Kinetic Analysis Corp., a company that does computer modeling of predicted storm damage, predicted that the hurricane would result to possible damages reaching $5-10 billion.

Here are some pictures of the impact of Irene in several U.S. states including North Carolina and New York.

Compare this with the photos of the devastating effects of Typhoon Ondoy in the Philippines in September 2009 and recent flooding in Australia in January 2011.

Sources: CNN, Yahoo News

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