Two million American homes and businesses are without power thanks to Hurricane Irene, and the storm still hasn’t hit the New York region and New England in general.

Winds of up to 115 miles per hour whipped across the Eastern Seaboard, ripping power lines from poles and snapping trees in half. Hospitals, emergency call centers and other crucial facilities were holding up, but officials said it could get much worse as Irene churns north.

Gasoline supplies were falling as drivers fill up before leaving town or just top off their tanks as a precaution before the storm hits. Pump prices rose about 3 cents per gallon overnight in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

The outage tallies so far:

• Dominion Resources: 900,000
• Progress Energy: 190,000
• Duke Energy: 1,500
• Pepco: 80,000
• Baltimore Gas & Electric: 250,000
• PEPCO (PA): 140,000
• Jersey Central Power & Light: 80,000

Expect many more outages as Irene slams New York, New Jersey, and New England. Many areas could be without power for days — or longer.