
Irene erases history
Steps are all that remain of a cottage owned by Billy Stinson—seen comforting daughter Erin Stinson on August 28—after Hurricane Irene destroyed their Nags Head, North Carolina, home. Built in 1903, the cottage was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Stinson bought the home in 1963.
“We were pretending, just for a moment, that the cottage was still behind us, and we were just sitting there watching the sunset,” Erin said.
Photo by Scott Olson, Getty Images