Hurricane Irene and the aftermath

Irene is likely to rank among the 10 costliest catastrophes in U.S. history.

What happened

Irene, the most powerful hurricane to reach the East Coast in two decades, lashed some of the country’s most densely populated areas with 85-mph winds and torrential rains, killing at least 40 people and causing more than $10 billion in property damage. Anticipating the storm, state and local officials had ordered massive coastal evacuations from North Carolina to Connecticut. The cities of Washington, Philadelphia, and New York were brought to a standstill; the region’s airports were closed; and more than 10,000 flights were canceled. Forecasters and news teams obsessively tracked the course of the “monster storm of the century.”

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