Mian Shakeel Aslam: -- As a much-weakened Irene entered Canada, it left parts of the U.S. East Coast still grappling Monday with dangerous floodwaters, widespread power outages and stranded residents.
At least 24 deaths in nine states were blamed on Irene, which fizzled to a post-tropical cyclone and headed over eastern Canada on Monday.
Flooding was ongoing, particularly in New England, said Craig Fugate, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
"A lot of the activities are moving into recovery phases, but we are still very concerned about the flooding," he told reporters in a conference call.
Southern states were affected primarily by power outages and the effects of storm surge, particularly on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where Highway 12 had been chopped into pieces in several place by the pounding surf.
As of early afternoon, about 5 million customers were without power, Fugate said, citing figures from the Department of Energy. That was down from about 6 million, he said.
"Hurricane Irene, from our vantage point, was a very well-behaved, New England breed of hurricane," said David Vallee, a hydrologist for the National Weather Service in charge of the Northeastern forecast center in Taunton, Massachusetts. "Lots of rain west of the track."
Did Irene affect you? Share photos and video, but stay safe
Rainfall reached 15 inches in some places, he said. The fact that much of the affected area was already heavily saturated by rainfall in the weeks prior to Irene made things worse, he said.
As of Monday morning, moderate to major flooding was occurring from New York into the Connecticut Valley, through much of northern New Hampshire "and a good chunk of Vermont."
Many of the river crests set records, he said.
Though the flash flood threat had largely abated, some of the larger rivers had not yet crested, he said.
Asked how FEMA has changed its approach to handling disasters six years after Hurricane Katrina laid waste to much of the Gulf Coast, Fugate said the agency now has more authority to act prior to receiving a request from a governor. That translates into "not having to wait" until the impact of the storm is clear. "We have to act quickly and be prepared to support that."
Six years after Katrina, praise for Irene response
In Washington, President Barack Obama vowed, "We will make sure folks have all the support they need." He added that "it will take time" to recover.
They may need that support from North Carolina through New England, where a number of homes, businesses, roads and bridges were torn apart by floodwaters.
Some of the worst flooding since 1927 ravaged Vermont's normally tranquil countryside, turning babbling brooks into turbulent rivers and knocking homes from their foundations.
In Wilmington, Vermont, a young woman who had been standing near a river was swept away by the water. Her body was recovered Monday.
In all, 260 roads were affected, many of them underwater, Vermont's Emergency Management Agency said Monday.
Four to six covered bridges were destroyed and others were washed out, it said.
In the capital city of Montpelier, water crested overnight at 19.5 feet, just shy of the 20-foot prediction, but levels throughout the state were receding Monday.
Posted By: Mian Shakeel Aslam
No comments:
Post a Comment