Hurricane Irene Leaves Path of Destruction Behind
August 29, 2011
Local rivers began to flood into the streets of Manhattan as Hurricane Irene pounded New Jersey and New York City with gusting winds and a down pouring of rain early Sunday morning. The “city that never sleeps” was indeed napping as all of the major modes of transportation were shut down prior to the storm making landfall.
The storm has resulted in over 4 million people being left without power and officials in affected states are saying that it may be days before everyone gets their power back. There is significant flooding in many areas of the Northeast including North Carolina, Long Island, Brooklyn and in several areas along the New Jersey shore. Irene had calmed to a tropical storm by 9 am ET Sunday. The storm dumped a foot of rain over the region by early Sunday morning but since the heaviest storm surge took place during a low tide, the flooding was not as bad as it was expected to be.
Hurricane Irene first made landfall in the U.S. Saturday morning when it slammed into North Carolina. Once the storm made its way to New York City a day later, it consisted of winds of between 35 and 69 miles per hour. Manhattan’s low-lying areas such as Battery Park flooded due to the East and Hudson rivers being so near. Both rivers overflowed their banks, sending rushing water into city streets. The flood damage done in New Jersey is very widespread but a full assessment cannot be done until river flooding subsides as late as Tuesday.
So far, eleven people have lost their lives due to the massive, wide storm. Even though Irene has been downgraded to a tropical storm, those states still in the storm’s path are not taking any chances. The Army Corps of Engineers is poised to shut down hurricane barriers near Providence, Rhode Island, Bridgeport, Connecticut and New Bedford, Massachusetts Sunday. The cement and steel barriers serve as a shield to protect coastal communities from flooding and storm surges. As the large storm system moves into New England, storm surges are a major threat.
Irene tore a path that stretched from the Outer Banks of North Carolina to the eastern tip of Long Island in just a twenty-four hour period. The monster storm was the cause of a never-before-seen shutdown of the transit systems in Philadelphia, Washington DC and New York City. Reports of flooding have been coming in to news stations and emergency centers from all along the eastern seaboard. Irene is the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season and it also will go down in history as being the first hurricane to hit land in the United States in three years. Irene came ashore almost six years to the day after Katrina devastated New Orleans on August 29, 2005.
Florida Residents Urged to Take Preventative Precautions for the 2011 Hurricane Season
August 22, 2011
Emergency management officials are urging people living in Florida to pay close attention to tropical storm Irene. The National Hurricane Center now has the entire state of Florida in a 5-day forecast zone on its tracking maps. It is thought that Irene will become a Category 1 hurricane by the time it reaches southern Florida later this week. Already, Irene is packing 150 mile per hour winds as it is reaching the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Irene is already making history as it is the 3rd storm in this hurricane season to be named behind 1936 and 2005, so says the National Hurricane Center.
Officials in the state of Florida are ensuring that they are ready for what is expected to be a busy hurricane season. Since the state has gone through five hurricane seasons without a landfall hurricane occurring, officials are concerned that people in Florida have become complacent. What people should do is to have a family evacuation plan in order and to have at least three days worth of supplies ready like canned foods, bottled water, radio, flashlights, batteries and medications.
Tropical-storm force winds can easily destroy poorly built buildings and mobile homes. Things like signs, roofing material and items left outside can turn into flying missiles during hurricanes. Fallen tree limbs can also do a lot of damage to a home or business. It is therefore necessary for homeowners to check their roofs, put small items in their yards away and cut low hanging tree limbs away from their homes. The storm is presently tracking towards Miami, but residents in surrounding areas such as West Palm Beach or the Florida Keys also need to be on alert as storms can quickly change direction.
Tropical storm Irene’s path is still uncertain but people living in Florida should be paying attention to this storm. The Florida peninsula lies within the predicted path of the storm. The National Hurricane Center is concerned that once Irene passes over Cuba and enters the Florida straits that it could gain strength while over the warm water. It is possible for Irene to dump large amounts of rain on Florida which could result in flash flooding.
Emergency management officials are urging Floridians to have hurricane kits readied and to assume the worst. Even near-hits of tropical storms and hurricanes have resulted in massive damage in Florida in the past as well as death. For instance, in 1985, Hurricane Elena hit 80 miles outside Tampa Bay but it resulted in four people losing their lives.
New York Flooding Woes Continue into the New Week
August 15, 2011
It has been a wet and wild weekend throughout the metropolitan New York area and the weather chaos is expected to continue on at least through Monday night. A flash flood watch and hazardous weather outlook have been put into effect by the National Weather Service through Monday evening for the greater New York metro area.
With torrential rainfalls falling during Saturday evening and into Sunday, the service said that the area will receive up to 2 ½ inches more of rain by Monday night with even more possible in some areas. This heavy rain could very well lead to rivers and creeks overflowing their banks and to flash flood conditions in heavily populated areas.
The rain is caused by a slow-moving storm system that was expected to swing off to the Atlantic by Sunday evening. But now it appears that it will continue on through Long Island on Monday. In addition to predicting heavy rainfall, the National Weather Service has warned residents in the region that heavy thunderstorms can occur which could knock power out to many.
Staten Island has been hit hard as widespread flooding has been reported across numerous neighborhoods. Many cars were stuck on local roadways with water up to their hoods. Some areas in The Big Apple are nearing ten inches of rain from the system with more on its way. The American Red Cross is helping displaced residents in the city by providing them with temporary housing. The agency says that it is prepared to provide more help as more rain is in the immediate forecast.
Two to four inches more rain is expected to fall on the Big Apple early this week. According to the National Weather Service, some parts of the city have already had over three inches of rainfall which has slowed traffic in many areas to a crawl or to a complete stand-still. Travel at local airports was delayed by at least an hour early Sunday and the city’s subway system has been re-routed in many areas due to flooding concerns.
The New York Yankees were forced to postpone their Sunday night game against Tampa Bay to a later date due to the severe weather. There have been hundreds of complaints pouring into the Dept. of Environmental Protection of sewer backups with dozens of complaints coming in of highway and street flooding. Con Ed reported that there are numerous power outages throughout Queens and Brooklyn but it is hoping to have power restored to those affected by Monday night.
