Irene left the US East Coast devastated

Family's historic Nags Head, N.C. cottage built in 1903 destroyed by Hurricane Irene

Billy Stinson, left, comforts his daughter Erin Stinson as they sit on the steps where their cottage once stood before it was destroyed by Hurricane Irene in Nags Head, N.C., on Aug. 28. The cottage, built in 1903, was one of the first vacation cottages built on Albemarle Sound in Nags Head. Stinson has owned the home, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, since 1963. "We were pretending, just for a moment, that the cottage was still behind us and we were just sitting there watching the sunset," said Erin afterward. (Photo: Scott Olson / Getty Images)