Hurricane Irene: News Channels Airing Live Coverage From East Coast

On Saturday, Hurricane Irene hit the coast of North Carolina, making its way up the East Coast.

CNN has dispatched reporters up and down the coast to cover Hurricane Irene every step of the way. Throughout the day, the news network plans to update viewers with scene reports and first-person accounts.

In addition, its reporters have posted updates from the East Coast. One reporter, Aaron Brodie, wrote from the road in New Jersey early Saturday afternoon: “I had a nice motel all to myself on Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey before my CNN bosses told me they needed me to go to Atlantic City. Now I have a nice freeway all to myself.”

President Barack Obama met with FEMA officials on Saturday and made a statement about Hurricane Irene. “It’s going to be a long 72 hours,” he said. (Watch the video below.)

Time was just one of several news organizations tracking the storm with up-to-the-minute updates, including a photo that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released of the storm in its raw form.

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MSNBC reported that almost half a million people were without power, with three people in North Carolina dead. The network aired live coverage from Nags Head, NC, with the the feed going in and out. Reporters along the east coast, including those in Ocean City, Maryland, gave frontline reports, with a state of emergency for the state.

Fox News Channel, DirecTV and The Weather Channel were among those networks also covering Irene on Saturday. On Saturday afternoon, Fox News chatted with hurricane hunters and interviewed people via phone who had decided to stay put in their homes, even though their respective cities and governments had urged them to evacuate.

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At about 5 p.m. Eastern, the National Hurricane Center issued an update on Hurricane Irene, saying that the hurricane was heading northeast, and those from North Carolina up to Southern New England would be affected. Six to 12 inches of rain were expected to hit surrounding areas as well.

Though the storm has passed through North Carolina, networks have reported that residents who want to return home were urged to wait.

Hours before the storm was scheduled to hit New York City, the subway and bus systems were shut down.