Hurricane Irene Hits North Carolina and New York

With the death toll at 40 since Hurricane Irene hit North Carolina a few days ago, the Northern states have been reeling. The states of Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Vermont haven’t seen a hurricane of this magnitude in decades.

Now that Hurricane Irene has passed on into Canada, the people in North Carolina are picking up the pieces. Hurricane Irene has left a trail of destruction and almost five million people without power and rendered several others homeless.

President Obama has declared a state of emergency in New York and North Carolina, this means that these states will be able to receive federal aid in order to cope with the natural disaster.
Still, with homes destroyed beyond recognition and the streets flooded, thanks to the heavy rains, it now looks like insurance claims for the damages cost will be close to about $ 7 billion dollars as several towns have been hit very badly.

While evacuation efforts were undertaken before New York was hit, FEMA officials, who have been in touch with the President think that even though it’s going to be a tough effort to deal with the destruction of the hurricane in the aforementioned states, the government is well-prepared.