Hurricane Irene downed power lines, turned city
streets into rivers, and threatened to shut down
New York City. Transportation was shut down all
along the East Coast, stranding residents and tourists
in shelters, airports, and train stations. More than 5.8
million customers lost electricity, thousands of flights
were cancelled, flooding washed out roads and destroyed homes, and evacuation orders were issued for
hundreds of people.
Gales from Irene, combined with soil saturation
caused by the extreme amounts of precipitation, uprooted many trees and power lines along the storm’s
path. Coastal areas suffered extensive flood damage
from a potent storm surge, with additional freshwater
flooding reported in many areas. The storm spawned
scattered tornadoes that caused significant property
damage. Hurricane Irene did its worst damage inland,
where heavy rainfall led to catastrophic flooding in
eastern New York state that wiped out roads and railroads and nearly destroyed some small towns.
The serious and widespread destruction to the built
environment in the regions affected by Hurricane
Irene highlight the need to overhaul the nation’s ailing infrastructure. Even with tropical storm status,
Irene caused 100-year floods, prompted historic evacuations, and shredded entire houses. Improving the
condition of the nation’s infrastructure will improve
its ability to better withstand large-scale disasters.