Environment: Hurricane Irene bears down on the US

Hurricane Irene is bearing down on the U.S. East Coast and is a frightening storm destroying everything in its path, according to an astronaut on the International Space Station.

NASA astronaut Mike Fossum said that Hurricane Irene, like all hurricanes, looks "terrifying from above," and its evolution into a major storm this week has been unmistakable from orbit.

"There's kind of a dome shape to the whole thing, with the eye fully formed," Fossum said. "Yesterday you could see the eye wall and down into the eye itself. You know that is a powerful storm, and those are never good news when they're headed your way. So our prayers and thoughts are with the people in its path."

Fossum is one of six astronauts living aboard the International Space Station and is in the middle of a six-month spaceflight. His crewmate Ron Garan, also of NASA, has been posting photos of Irene from orbit each day as the space station has been flying over the huge storm.

"All indications point to this being a historic hurricane," President Obama said in a statement to reporters from Martha's Vineyard, an island off the coast of Cape Cod in Massachusetts.

"I cannot stress this highly enough. If you are in the projected path of this hurricane, you have to take precautions now. Don't wait. Don't delay!" Obama said.

Hundreds of thousands on the coast of the US have fled in-land and New York City could be hit. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered evacuations in low-lying areas of the city, and its mass transit system will shut down at noon Saturday. This natural disaster will shake the Earth as one of the worst Hurricane’s in history. We hope and pray for the people stuck in the path of this Hurricane and we hope that they can rebuild their lives successfully after this passes.

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The Ahmadiyya Post, Environment. By Zubair Ahmed. Aug 26th 2011