Hurricane Irene Pounds The Bahamas – Photos

(Please click here for the latest photos of Hurricane Irene pounding the US East Coast).

As of 8 a.m. EDT Thursday, the Category 3 Hurricane Irene was centered about 65 miles (105 kilometers) east-northeast of Nassau in the Bahamas.

Early Thursday, the storm was thrashing the Bahamas with widespread damage reported on at least two southern islands, the Acklins and Crooked islands >>>please click here<<<.

Now the monstrous Hurricane Irene is heading to the US East Coast Seaboard  threatening 65 million people along a shore-hugging path from North Carolina to New England.

A man walks along a seaside park as Hurricane Irene passes to the east of Nassau on New Providence Island in the Bahamas, Thursday Aug. 25, 2011. Irene is pounding the Bahamas as a Category 3 hurricane. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

A man walks along the waterfront as Hurricane Irene passes to the east of Nassau on New Providence Island in the Bahamas, Thursday Aug. 25, 2011. Irene is pounding the Bahamas as a Category 3 hurricane. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Residents Ash Henderson, right, and Ioana walk past a downed tree in their neighborhood as Hurricane Irene passes to the east of Nassau on New Providence Island in the Bahamas, Thursday Aug. 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

A man stops to photograph a downed utility pole as Hurricane Irene passes to the east of Nassau on New Providence Island in the Bahamas, Thursday Aug. 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Hurricane Irene downed trees as it passed through Thursday, Aug. 25, 2011, to the east of Nassau on New Providence Island in the Bahamas. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

A truck drives through a deserted downtown as Hurricane Irene passes to the east of Nassau, on New Providence Island in the Bahamas, Thursday, Aug. 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)