From North Carolina to Maine, communities cleaned up and took stock of the uneven and hard-to-predict costs of a storm that spared the nation's biggest city a nightmare scenario, only to deliver a historic wallop to towns well inland.
The 11-state death toll, which had stood at 21 as of Sunday night, rose sharply to 41 as bodies were pulled from floodwaters and people were electrocuted by downed power lines.
Nearly 5 million homes and businesses in a dozen states were still without electricity, and utilities warned it might be a week or more before some people got their power back.After Irene, navigating tricky insurance-claim waters
In New York City, where people had braced for a disaster-movie scene of water swirling around skyscrapers, the subways and buses were up and running again in time for the Monday morning commute.
By Tuesday, a majority of riders on the hard-hit Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad were able to get onto trains. Only three of the LIRR lines were still suspended, covering the eastern end of the Long Island.
But to the north, landlocked Vermont contended with what its governor called the worst flooding in a century. Streams also raged out of control in rural, upstate New York.
'We weren't expecting devastation'
In many cases, the moment of maximum danger arrived well after the storm had passed, as rainwater made its way into rivers and streams and turned them into torrents. Irene dumped up to 11 inches of rain on Vermont and more than 13 inches in parts of New York.
"We were expecting heavy rains," said Bobbi-Jean Jeun of Clarksville, a hamlet near Albany, New York. "We were expecting flooding. We weren't expecting devastation. It looks like somebody set a bomb off."
Video: East Coast picks up the pieces after Irene (on this page)
In upstate New York, authorities were also closely watching major dams holding back drinking water reservoirs.
In North Carolina, where Irene blew ashore along the Outer Banks on Saturday before heading for New York and New England, 1,000 people were still in emergency shelters, awaiting word on their homes.
John Bone, president of the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce in Kill Devil Hills, said tourists were already returning after the upper Outer Banks escaped major damage. Video: Outer Banks hoping to recover in time for Labor Day (on this page)
"We were very fortunate in many respects," he said. "It could have been a lot worse."
Airlines said it would be days before the thousands of passengers stranded by Irene find their way home.
During the course of Irene, 7.4 million customers lost power — nearly double the outages from the last hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. in 2008.
Power outages due to Irene
In upstate New York, authorities were also closely watching major dams holding back drinking water reservoirs.
In North Carolina, where Irene blew ashore along the Outer Banks on Saturday before heading for New York and New England, 1,000 people were still in emergency shelters, awaiting word on their homes.
John Bone, president of the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce in Kill Devil Hills, said tourists were already returning after the upper Outer Banks escaped major damage. Video: Outer Banks hoping to recover in time for Labor Day (on this page)
"We were very fortunate in many respects," he said. "It could have been a lot worse."
Airlines said it would be days before the thousands of passengers stranded by Irene find their way home.
During the course of Irene, 7.4 million customers lost power — nearly double the outages from the last hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. in 2008.
Power outages due to Irene
State Customers \ without power % \of all customers
Connecticut \ 702,154 \ 44
Delaware \ 13,821 \ 3
Washington, D.C. \10,365 \5
Maine\201,663\15
Delaware \ 13,821 \ 3
Washington, D.C. \10,365 \5
Maine\201,663\15
Maryland\441,550 \20
Massachusetts \535,630 \18
New Hampshire \106,906 \18
New Jersey \615,905 \18
New York \888,637 \11
North Carolina \252,288 \6
Pennsylvania \420,102 \8
Massachusetts \535,630 \18
New Hampshire \106,906 \18
New Jersey \615,905 \18
New York \888,637 \11
North Carolina \252,288 \6
Pennsylvania \420,102 \8
Rhode Island \282,280 \65
Vermont \41,702 \11
Virginia \610,000 \19
At 1 p.m. ET Monday
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Energy
Vermont \41,702 \11
Virginia \610,000 \19
At 1 p.m. ET Monday
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Energy
Throughout the region, hundreds of roads were impassable because of flooding or fallen trees, and some bridges had simply given way, including a 156-year-old hand-hewn, wooden, covered bridge across Schoharie Creek in Blenheim, N.Y.
At least three towns in New York remained cut off by flooded roads and bridges.Story: After overpreparing for Irene, buyer's remorse
Early estimates put Irene's damage at $7 billion to $10 billion, much smaller than the impact of monster storms such as Hurricane Katrina, which did more than $100 billion in damage. Irene's effects are small compared to the overall U.S. economy, which produces about $14 trillion worth of goods and services every year.
Washed-out roads
While people without electric power waited for the lights to come back on and communities from New York to Maine took stock of the storm, homeowners and towns in land-locked Vermont faced a sobering new reality — no way in or out. Washed-out roads and bridges left them — for now — inaccessible by automobile.
"We always had that truism that said 'Yup, yah can't get there from here.' In fact, that's come to pass down here," said Newfane Town Clerk Gloria Cristelli. "There are certain pockets where you can't get there from here, at least not by a car."
About a dozen towns and an unknown number of homes were cut off by damage from Irene's floodwaters and rain, including that of the town's emergency management coordinator, David Moore.
State transportation maintenance crews and contractors hired by the state were working to restore travel on some of the 260 roads that had been closed due to storm damage. Vermont also had 30 highway bridges closed.
The state's emergency management headquarters stood empty, evacuated because of river flooding from Irene's heavy rains. Rescuers used a boat and bucket loaders to pluck seven people from a swamped mobile home park in Lyndonville.Story: Hurricane Irene spawns baby boom in some hospitals
In Newfane (pop. 1,710), the storm's effects were staggering: About 150 people were unable to drive cars to their homes, 30 of them effectively stranded in theirs, seven bridges were washed out, two homes were knocked from their foundations by surging floodwaters and one 19th century grist mill smashed into kindling wood right where it stood.
Gov. Peter Shumlin called it the worst flooding in a century.
Field Notes: See readers' photos of the damage
"It's going to take time to recover from a storm of this magnitude," President Barack Obama warned as he promised the government would do everything in its power to help people get back on their feet. Obama signed an emergency declaration for Vermont, making federal assistance available for the entire state.
As the storm continued its march into eastern Canada, Irene brought strong winds, gusting near 55 miles an hour, to parts of southern New Brunswick, northern and mainland Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
At least three towns in New York remained cut off by flooded roads and bridges.Story: After overpreparing for Irene, buyer's remorse
Early estimates put Irene's damage at $7 billion to $10 billion, much smaller than the impact of monster storms such as Hurricane Katrina, which did more than $100 billion in damage. Irene's effects are small compared to the overall U.S. economy, which produces about $14 trillion worth of goods and services every year.
Washed-out roads
While people without electric power waited for the lights to come back on and communities from New York to Maine took stock of the storm, homeowners and towns in land-locked Vermont faced a sobering new reality — no way in or out. Washed-out roads and bridges left them — for now — inaccessible by automobile.
"We always had that truism that said 'Yup, yah can't get there from here.' In fact, that's come to pass down here," said Newfane Town Clerk Gloria Cristelli. "There are certain pockets where you can't get there from here, at least not by a car."
About a dozen towns and an unknown number of homes were cut off by damage from Irene's floodwaters and rain, including that of the town's emergency management coordinator, David Moore.
State transportation maintenance crews and contractors hired by the state were working to restore travel on some of the 260 roads that had been closed due to storm damage. Vermont also had 30 highway bridges closed.
The state's emergency management headquarters stood empty, evacuated because of river flooding from Irene's heavy rains. Rescuers used a boat and bucket loaders to pluck seven people from a swamped mobile home park in Lyndonville.Story: Hurricane Irene spawns baby boom in some hospitals
In Newfane (pop. 1,710), the storm's effects were staggering: About 150 people were unable to drive cars to their homes, 30 of them effectively stranded in theirs, seven bridges were washed out, two homes were knocked from their foundations by surging floodwaters and one 19th century grist mill smashed into kindling wood right where it stood.
Gov. Peter Shumlin called it the worst flooding in a century.
Field Notes: See readers' photos of the damage
"It's going to take time to recover from a storm of this magnitude," President Barack Obama warned as he promised the government would do everything in its power to help people get back on their feet. Obama signed an emergency declaration for Vermont, making federal assistance available for the entire state.
As the storm continued its march into eastern Canada, Irene brought strong winds, gusting near 55 miles an hour, to parts of southern New Brunswick, northern and mainland Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.