Hurricane Irene’s trail of destruction

Storm’s death count continues to rise as widespread flooding affects states all across the eastern United States The remains of Hurricane Irene have begun to dissipate over Canada as the storm’s death toll continued to rise and widespread flooding affected states across the north-eastern United States. The huge, slow-moving storm travelled along 1,100 miles of US coastline leaving a trail of destruction reaching far inland. At least 28 deaths have so far been attributed to Irene with about 3 million people left without power along its path. People have struggled to get back to work as officials tried to remove fallen trees from roads and train tracks and clear flooded subway tunnels. Airports across the region have started opening again but were left dealing with around 9,000 flights cancelled as Irene struck. More than 250 roads were closed by flooding in Vermont as the state experienced its worst floods for 75 years. Governor Peter Shumlin declared the state a federal disaster area as hundreds were told to leave their homes. “We prepared for the worst and we got the worst in central and southern Vermont,” Shumlin said. “We have extraordinary infrastructure damage.” On Sunday, up to 13 inches (33cm) of rain fell on states across the east coast with more than 10in of rain in parts of North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and upstate New York. The rain followed record rainfalls earlier this month, bursting the banks of already swollen rivers in several states. On 14 August, nearly 8

Posted by on August 29, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.