Irene leaves damaging floods, widespread destruction
The torment from Irene isn’t over as parts of the Northeast grapple with dangerous floodwaters, widespread power outages and stranded residents.
At least 21 deaths across eight states were blamed on Irene, which had fizzled to a post-tropical cyclone and was headed over eastern Canada by Monday morning.Some of the biggest, continuing headaches involved flooding, as tidal storm surges and overflowing, fast-moving rivers left homes in North Carolina and points northward awash.
More flooding is predicted in New Jersey as rivers crest.
And in Plattsville, New York, seven families who thought they had escaped the wrath of Irene were stranded in the Catskill Mountains after bridges crumbled all around them.
But parts of New York City will return to normal Monday, as some subway services will resume and the three major airports in the area will open.
The U.S. government estimated that the cost from wind damage alone is expected to top $1 billion, with downed power lines leaving more than 4 million people without electricity.
“The impacts of this storm will be felt for some time, and the recovery effort will last for weeks or longer,” President Barack Obama said Sunday evening from Washington.
Numerous “swift-water” rescue teams were dispatched Sunday night around Vermont, where state emergency management spokesman Mark Bosma said some small towns were “entirely covered with water” and people, including a woman who was in labor, were stranded in schools and cars.