Hurricane Irene gathers pace on way to US

24/08/11 08:33 CET

world news

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The United States is on alert as Hurricane Irene sweeps through the Carribbean and looks set to hit North Carolina by tomorrow.

Irene has now strengthened to a Category Three storm with winds of over 178 kilometres per hour and Carolina residents have been told to stock up on supplies.

Irene pounded the Turks and Caicos Islands overnight but there were no immediate reports of any fatalities or injuries on the British overseas territory.

It hit the Dominican Republic as a Category one Storm on Monday evening before moving on to Haiti.

The hurricane has already displaced more than 11,000 people in Haiti, where nearly 600,000 have been without shelter since last year’s earthquake.

More about: Caribbean, Hurricanes, USA

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