The National Hurricane Center in Miami said the enormous storm had weakened somewhat, but winds topping 80 mph began lashing the shoreline near Jacksonville, North Carolina, around dawn. Gusts as high as 94 mph were recorded.
The storm's center was about 35 miles south of Cape Lookout on North Carolina's Outer Banks early Saturday and lumbering north-northeastward at 14 mph.
Wind and rain knocked out power to more than 91,000 customers along the North Carolina coast, including a hospital in Morehead City. A woman who answered the phone there said the hospital was running on generators.
The storm already has dumped 8 inches of rain on parts of North Carolina.
Local and state officials, the Red Cross and other agencies in several states were geared up, and more than 2 million people along the East Coast were warned, or ordered, to flee the storm's path. Millions more as far north as Maine hunkered down for a weekend of historic wind and rain.
North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue urged coastal residents who had chosen to ride out the storm to remain indoors.
"When it it subsides we will have personnel and vehicles and supplies if they're needed, but please use common sense,'' Perdue said. The storm could impact more than 3.5 million state residents, the governor said.
The storm was forecast to reach the mid-Atlantic states later Saturday and New York and New England on Sunday. A hurricane threat this severe is new territory for some northern areas.
"I'm from Atlanta. I spent 10 weeks in Mississippi after Katrina and four weeks in Miami after Andrew," said Teresa Caver, a Red Cross official in Binghamton, N.Y. "I was not expecting to come to New York and have to deal with hurricanes or earthquakes."
U.S. airlines have canceled thousands of weekend flights. Dozens of airports, including New York's three major ones, were closing or curtaling schedules.
Many governors have ordered mandatory evacuations, making it clear that those who stay behind will have to fend for themselves.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie urged 1 million Jersey Shore vacationers and residents to leave: "I saw news feeds of people on the beach in Asbury Park… Get the hell off the beach in Asbury Park and get out.. You've maximized your tan. Get off the beach, get in your cars and get out of those areas…. Do not waste any more time working on your tan. Get off the beach.''
Even President Obama, who cut short his vacation in Martha's Vineyard on Friday, said the storm was shaping up as a "historic hurricane" and urged residents to "be prepared for the worst."
"Don't wait. Don't delay," Obama said. "We all hope for the best, but we have to be prepared for the worst."
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg held a news briefing to emphasize how serious the storm is for the city.
"It's heading basically, directly for us,'' he said, announcing manadatory evacuations for low-lying areas of the city.
"We've never done a mandatory evacuation before and we wouldn't be doing it if we didn't think this storm is going to be serious, Bloomberg saixpected to churn up the coast, with high winds and drenching areas from Virginia to New York City before a much-weakened storm reaches New England.
In New York City, nursing homes and five hospitals in low-lying areas began evacuating Friday. Mayor Bloomberg said subways, buses and railroads would shut down beginning at noon Saturday and "may or may not be restored" by rush hour Monday.
Delaware's governor pleaded with people to "get out of the way" in case officials have to respond to emergencies.
"We know the roads will be impassable, bridges may have to be closed, emergency vehicles may not be able to get where we want them to get, so it is important that people get out of the way," Gov. Jack Markell told MSNBC.
Already Irene has destroyed hundreds of homes on small Bahamian islands but largely spared the capital of Nassau as it tore over the sprawling archipelago Thursday. There were no immediate reports of deaths, but some small settlements reported up to 90% of their homes damaged. Assessments from other islands were not in because telephone lines were down.
Forecasters issued a hurricane warning for much of New Jersey.
Irene could be "one of the most devastating storms on record in New Jersey," said David Robinson, the New Jersey state climatologist at Rutgers University.
Gary Szatkowski, the meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service's Mount Holly, N.J., office, agreed: "If this pans out as the track suggests, this will be the worst storm in anyone's lifetime in New Jersey," he said.
In North Carolina, traffic was steady Friday as people fled the Outer Banks and beach towns. A day earlier, tourists were ordered to leave the barrier islands, and many residents heeded authorities' stern admonitions to get out.
At a gas station in Nags Head, Pete Reynolds wanted to make sure he had enough fuel for the long trip. The retired teacher spent part of Thursday getting his house ready for the hurricane. He and his wife then headed to New Jersey to stay with their son's family.
"We felt like we would be OK, and we could ride out the storm," Reynolds said. "But when they announced mandatory evacuations, I knew it was serious."
Some people were opting to ride out the storm.
In Virginia Beach, Va., as earth-moving crews rushed to build sand barriers to protect the southern tip of this beach resort, spectators sat in lounge chairs on an 85-degree Friday morning as the final day of a surfing competition unfolded nearly as planned.
Sandbridge, a low-lying area south of the beach, was already under a mandatory evacuation order by 8 a.m.
But Dylan Altman, a 40-year-old high school history teacher, sat in the sun, on a beach chair with his girlfriend, Jean, by his side. A Virginia Beach native, he said he was staying put, with several days' worth of food, water and batteries. He had spent the week removing lawn furniture and other loose items from his yard and cutting stray limbs from trees.
"This is perfect for surfers," he said. "Actually, I'll probably go out at some point and surf."
What would make him leave?
"A Category 5, I would leave," he said.
Reggie Bario and his wife, Jeanette, who are visiting from Ile-Bizard, a suburb of Montreal, stood watching the earth-movers from an elevated playground. They planned to stay put with ice and supplies in a fourth-floor oceanview room at the Schooner Inn, a boxy high-rise just off the beach.
"We're going to see everything," said Jeanette, 60, with a little laugh.
"It's a concrete building," Reggie said. "If it was a wooden house, I don't think we'd stay."
Standing shirtless and in a black swimsuit and flip-flops, he said many of the folks they've met since Tuesday are downplaying the hurricane's severity.
"The locals are not leaving," he said.
Jeanette jumped in: "And they don't panic — why should we panic?"
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