After slapping the East Coast from North Carolina to Vermont for two wet, windy days, Hurricane Irene slipped into Canada Sunday evening as a weakened tropical storm. The damage was less severe than the worst predictions — but still considerable — and communities along the Eastern Seaboard are still bracing for flooding as rivers continue to rise. Here, a by-the-numbers look at some of the punishment Irene exacted on everything from electrical grids to box-office receipts:
14
Number of U.S. states and territories abused by Hurricane Irene, including Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico
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Number of Irene-related deaths so far, primarily by drowning, electrocution, or being crushed under fallen trees
4.5 million
Number of homes and businesses that lost power, including 2.5 million in Virginia
9,000
Number of commercial airline flights canceled
2 million
Number of people forced to evacuate low-lying areas, mostly along New York and New Jersey coasts
12
Number of Atlantic hurricanes since 1980 that got more media coverage, according to The New York Times' Nate Silver
$7 billion
Estimated total damage directly caused by Irene, according to Kinetic Analysis Corporation
$2.6 billion
Amount of that damage covered by insurance
$40 billion
Estimated total damage, including lost economic activity, according to economist Peter Morici
$133 billion
Damage from Hurricane Katrina in 2005
$157 billion
Damage from the Great Miami hurricane in 1926, in inflation-adjusted 2005 dollars
10
Number of $1 billion+ natural disasters in the U.S. in 2011 — breaking the 2008 record
18
FEMA disaster-response teams at the ready, along with 100,000 National Guard troops
14
Inches of Irene rainfall reported in Bunyan, N.C.
30
Forecasted level of cresting in the Delaware River (in feet), well above normal flood levels
23
Percent drop in weekend box office receipts versus a year ago, due to the temporary closure of 1,000 East Coast movie theaters
Sources: ABC News, AFP, AP (2), Bloomberg (2), CNN, Houston Chronicle, LiveScience, Los Angeles Times (2), Nate Silver, New York Times, US News/HealthDay, WFMY
