Hurricane Irene Aftermath

Hurricane Irene Afterma

Hurricane Irene may have left the East Coast, but not before ravaging the eastern seaboard from the Carolinas to Canada, and leaving many residents without shelter, power, and the resources to conduct their daily lives.

Hurricanes, also called typhoons and cyclones, are a type of tropical cyclone. They are powered by heat from the sea that develops in warm weather, or tropical, areas. The winds produced from a hurricane can be deadly, as well as destructive to property. In addition, hurricanes can cause storm surges, where ocean water is pushed toward land by the force of the wind. Add a storm surge to high tide, and you can have fifteen-foot swells that can obliterate coastal property and cause severe flooding. Heavy rains are also a byproduct of any tropical storm, and Irene was no different.
Although Irene was not as severe as initially predicted, and the storm surges never reached gigantic proportions, the heavy rains that fell are flooding rivers and creeks, and have caused mass evacuations in several states. Power outages have occurred across the region, with an estimated 5 million residents losing power. Many have seen their service restored, but others may be waiting up to a week or more in heavily affected areas. Residents should be cautious about returning home, and those without power need to be mindful of potential food spoilage and contamination due to the outage. (See recommendations on Page 2.)
Due to weather conditions and safety precautions, many of the regions transit systems were shut down or ran on a skeleton crew. This includes New York’s massive subway system, which was totally shut down for the first time…EVER. Getting transportation back on line and rolling is a slow process, hindering employees from getting to work.
The New York Times reports that over 9,000 flights were cancelled over the weekend, but airports have now reopened and planes are once again flying.
Communications have been hindered due to the loss of cell phone towers and downed lines; both landlines and cell phone lines were affected. Work to repair these is already underway. Cable companies have had mass outages
Utility companies and emergency response teams are working around the clock to restore power and utility lines.