Tropical Storm Irene has weakened in its path up the northeastern US coast, after lashing New York with heavy rains and powerful winds - but sparing the city the worst of its wrath. The powerful storm system knocked out electricity lines and flooded parts of the city's deserted streets before being downgraded from a hurricane on Sunday. But it left behind a stunned east coast, killing at least 18 people, leaving millions without power and destroying buildings in North Carolina and Virginia. Air, rail and bus transport along the 1,200km stretch from Boston to North Carolina will on Monday offer only limited services in the aftermath of the storm. US President Barack Obama, who cut his holiday short to co-ordinate efforts to deal with the storm, said the "impact of Irene will be felt for some time".
Obama was briefed on the storm's track, its impact and response efforts during an evening conference call with senior officials including Joe Biden, the vice-president, Janet Napolitano, the homeland security secretary, and Steven Chu, the energy secretary. As waves continued to pound the Connecticut shore east of America's biggest city, Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York, lifted an evacuation order for residents in low-lying areas of the city. New York's normally bustling streets had emptied out overnight and public transport had come to a halt after Bloomberg ordered the first mandatory evacuation ever in the city. But on Sunday he said "all in all we are in pretty good shape", adding that, while it would be a "tough commute" on Monday, there had been no long-term damage to the city's subway system. Napolitano, meanwhile, confirmed on Sunday that the "worst of the storm had passed" adding that the precautions taken had "dramatically decreased" the threat to lives along the eastern US. |
Monday, August 29, 2011
New York escapes worst as Irene passes
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