Hurricane Irene kills 54 and leaves a trial of destruction

Hurricane Irene formed over the Atlantic Ocean on 20th August and headed towards Puerto Rico and the Caribbean Islands where it was recorded as an intense category 3 hurricane with winds of more than 120 miles per hour (192 km per hour). Irene also affected Leeward Islands, Lesser Antilles, Greater Antilles, Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas before heading towards eastern US. Warnings were issued on these islands, where Irene caused devastation and killed 1 person in Puerto Rico, 4 in Dominican Republic and 3 in Haiti.

In Puerto Rico utility poles and roads were damaged, over 700 people evacuated and 1 million people were left without power. Floods were caused due to torrential rainfall and extensive damage was caused to the agriculture sector. An estimated $500 worth of damage was caused in Puerto Rico alone. As Irene passed over the other islands, it caused flooding, landslides and damaged and destroyed houses and infrastructure.

Preparation were underway in eastern US where Irene was predicted to hit on Sunday. The last hurricane to affect New York was Gloria in 1985. A mandatory evacuation took place in numerous states including New York where over 300,000 people were evacuated from the high risk areas.

Although the hurricane was downgraded to category 1 and eventually a tropical storm when it hit New York; it caused devastating damage and disruption across numerous states. Millions of homes and businesses were left without power over the next few days and a number of airports and subways were also shut down, causing major disruption to the transport system. According to reports more than 7000 flights were cancelled in New York, Philadelphia and Boston on Sunday.

The worst affected states were New Jersey and Vermont, where damage was caused by the floods triggered by torrential rainfall. Hundreds of people were told to evacuate as the states faced the worst flooding since 1972. Roads, houses and utility supplies were damaged and schools and businesses were shut down.

Over 3 million homes and businesses were left without electricity in New Jersey, Connecticut and New York alone. The storm also caused torrential rain, floods and damage across Philadelphia, North and South Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Washington.

It then headed towards Canada as a weak storm system with winds of up to 50 miles per hour. Torrential rain also caused floods in Canada and left an estimated 2000,000 homes without electricity on 28th August.

Irene caused an estimated $7 billion worth of damage and claimed 45 lives in the United States and one in Canada, making the total 54. Eight people have also been reported as missing in the US (1) and Dominican Republic (7). Although New York had a lucky escape, the effects of the hurricane will be felt over the next few months in the worst affected states and islands.

By Saajeda Bandali