Hurricane Irene lashes US coast
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China.org.cn, August 28, 2011
Hurricane Irene barged up the US East Coast on Saturday. It knocked power out to more than a million homes and businesses, forced more than a million people off the New Jersey shore alone and caused at least ten deaths, according to the latest CNN report.
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A fishing boat sits on the ground after it was blown off its cradle in a boat yard as the back end of Hurricane Irene comes ashore near Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, August 27, 2011.[Photo/Agencies] |
At least six people including two teenagers died in North Carolina, where Irene made its first landfall Saturday morning, in accidents related to the ferocious storm.
A 15-year-old girl died in a car accident at an intersection where the traffic lights stopped working due to the power outage. An unidentified boy was killed in a similar car accident when the car he was riding in was struck at an intersection soaked with standing water.
Earlier the day, a man was killed while feeding his animals outside his home in a rural area of Nash County after being hit by a large tree limb brought down by strong wind. Another man living in Onslow County, died earlier from heart attack while putting up plywood board to the windows of his house to shield it from the storm.
In a car accident, a driver was killed in Pitt County, North Carolina, when he lost control of his car and hit a tree while driving into standing water on the road.
Hurricane Irene had a death toll of two in Virginia. An unidentified person was killed in Brunswick County, while sitting inside his car when it was struck by a tree toppled by strong wind and heavy rain caused by Irene. An 11-year-old boy was killed earlier the day when a tree crashed through his apartment in Newport News City, state emergency officials said.
Further south in Florida, a surfer died in the New Smyrna Beach after he defied warnings to go out for water surfing on tidal waves off the coast.
Earlier Saturday, U.S. government officials warned that Hurricane Irene, although a little weakened after being downgraded from Category 2 to Category 1 after reaching the shores of North Carolina, remained "dangerous" and residents on the East Coast have to take it seriously and get prepared.
In a show of its destructive force, Irene caused high wind, heavy rain and widespread flooding along its path, that led to massive power outages which left about 1 million residents in North Carolina and Virginia in dark as power supply was knocked out.
In North Carolina, at least 516,000 homes and businesses were suffering from power outages. In Virginia, more than 500,000 homes and businesses were without power as of Saturday afternoon, according to state and utility reports.
A tornado spawned by Irene destroyed five homes and seriously damaged a business in Tyrrell County, North Carolina. All roads in Jones County were blocked by downed trees, while a storm shelter there lost part of its roof, the TV news network CNN reported.
Hurricane Irene, the first hurricane to strike the U.S. mainland since 2008, revived bitter memories among many Americans of Hurricane Katrina, which wreaked massive havoc on southern United States in August, 2005, with a death toll of 1,836.
Former President George W. Bush administration came under strong criticism from the public for poor preparation, mismanagement and lack of leadership in its response and the relief efforts in the wake of the deadly storm.
U.S. President Barack Obama, who cut short his vacation to deal with Hurricane Irene, paid a visit on Saturday to the command center of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to inspect the federal emergency response to Hurricane Irene.
Trying to reassure residents who are worried about widespread flooding and power outages caused by Hurricane Irene, Obama said the federal government will demonstrate similar effectiveness in the response and disaster relief efforts as it did in preparing for the storm.
Obama, accompanied by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, said he had been monitoring the situation regarding Hurricane Irene closely. He added that he found some comfort in receiving no requests for help from several governors and mayors, who he called to see if they needed federal aid.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Defense on Saturday ordered 6,500 active duty troops to be ready for providing disaster relief aid to coastal states threatened by Hurricane Irene, department spokesman George Little said.
Earlier on Friday, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta directed U.S. Northern Command to provide support as identified by the FEMA, while designating three military bases in North Carolina, New Jersey and Massachusetts as FEMA Incident Support Bases. The Pentagon also propositioned 225 trucks loaded with equipment, food, water, and generators at Fort Bragg Base in North Carolina.
In addition, 18 military helicopters have been deployed to the eastern coastal states for life saving and life sustaining support. Approximately 101,000 National Guard troops were mobilized to provide disaster relief and rescue missions to the possibly affected areas if needed.
At least 10 states along the U.S. East Coast have declared state of emergency, while 2.3 million residents, living on the projected path of Hurricane Irene from North Carolina in the south to Maine in the north, had been ordered to evacuate before Saturday.
In New Jersey alone, over 1 million people were ordered to evacuate by the state government, as it braced for the worst scenario with Irene approaching. At a press conference, Governor Chris Christie said Saturday he was worried about 600 residents in Atlantic City, who refused to leave their homes despite his stern warning Friday.
In Washington D.C., which was also under state of emergency, flights were cancelled at its airports starting from Saturday night. In the past days, city authorities have been distributing sandbags to local residents to fight possible flooding caused by Hurricane Irene, which is expected to hit the area late Saturday. The area was just rattled last week by a 5.8-magnitude earthquake, which caused no major damages.
In New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg repeated his call on residents living in low-lying areas to take Hurricane Irene seriously and abide by evacuation orders. "This is the storm where if you're in the wrong place at the wrong time, it can be fatal," he told a news conference in New York.
The city on Saturday ordered shutdown of three major airports, the John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia and Newark airports, for safety concerns caused by Hurricane Irene, which is to reach the city on Sunday. This followed the closure of the city's massive public transit systems as of noon Saturday, the first caused by a natural disaster.
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