“Hurricane Irene” Cuts Power of 2 Million Homes

“Hurricane Irene” Cuts Power of 2 Million Homes

New York — Although Hurricane Irene has now weakened, it was able to shut down power of 2 million houses as it nears towards New York City. Many U.S. cities in the East Coast were surprised by the hurricane as they are more accustomed only to snowstorms. Currently, 8 people were already reported dead due to the Hurricane Irene which is now heading towards the East Coast of the United States.

Heavy rains were poured in Virginia and North Carolina causing more evacuations despite the earlier pre-empted evacuations already done in some areas. Public transportation in New York City such as the subways temporarily stopped its operations while streets in the city were emptied and deserted as people cautiously stayed indoors. Major cities such as Boston, Philadelphia, New Jersey and Washington have also laid out their precautionary measures for the coming of the Hurricane Irene. 65 million Americans might be affected by the storm as the concentration of most of the country’s population is in the East Coast.

By early Sunday, the storm weakened from earlier 115 mph of wind gusts to only 80 mph. The landfall of the hurricane hit near Cape Lookout in North Carolina. The extent of the damage caused by the hurricane in some areas over the hit areas is still cannot be assessed as early as now. Heavy rainfalls were poured in Eastern North Carolina with 10 to 14 inches of rain while Virginia received 9 inches of rainfall.

Posted by James Fried on Monday August 29 2011, 2:18 AM EST. Ref: Google. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Nation. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0