29th Aug 11
Storm evacuation ends in New York
by Adam Richards
Storm in a teacup: Hurricane Irene not as bad as fear but NY transport links still affected
Storm in a teacup: Hurricane Irene not as bad as fear but NY transport links still affected
Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who were evacuated in anticipation of Tropical Storm Irene have been allowed to return home after it passed over the city without causing extensive damage.
Concerns about major flooding have lessened and the city’s stock exchanges are scheduled to open today, even if flights and public transport remain suspended. The storm caused widespread destruction over the weekend as it headed up the US eastern seaboard, and is now travelling north in the direction of Canada, where it is expected to hit on Monday morning.
Eleven deaths have so far been linked to the storm, which destroyed buildings in both Virginia and North Carolina, and left millions of people without power. The storm had previously been classified as a category three hurricane, with winds reaching speeds of over 120mph (192km/h), as it swept across the Caribbean last week, but was downgraded to a tropical storm when it weakened en route to New York.
US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napollitano explained that the worst of the storm has passed but there was still some way to go, adding that the precautions which were taken had decreased the risk of deaths along the eastern US. However, Bill Read, the director of the National Hurricane Center, warned that heavy rains still carried a major risk of flooding to river systems, particularly in New England.
Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York, lifted evacuation orders which affected 370,000 people. But flights and public transport from the city’s airports remain suspended while the damage which the storm caused is assessed by officials.
He said that the subway system would be closed until the completion of safety inspections and acknowledged that many would face a “tough commute” on Monday. Officials said that flights would remain suspended until at least late afternoon on Monday.
The mayor also appealed for patience from people desperate to return home and defended the action taken to protect citizens. He explained that they were not going to take risks with people’s lives and that the best scenario is that precautions are taken which are not needed.
The north-eastern seaboard is the US’s most densely populated corridor, with over 65 million people residing in major cities including Washington DC, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Boston.
President Barack Obama returned home early from his holiday to oversee efforts to cope with the storm and held a video conference on Sunday so as to be updated on the response to the storm. He was said to be extremely keen to avoid the criticism aimed at the response of the federal government six years ago when Hurricane Katrina struck.
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