Hurricane Irene

Last week a major topic in the news was hurricane irene. Hurricane irene was headed towards the east coast- from north carolina all the way up to new england. Because of this, many different forms of preparation took place.Vacuation ensued all across the coast, even in parts of New York City. The government sent Red Cross help. Bottled water, flashlights, and generators were cleaned out of stores. Flights were canceled. Twenty seven US navy ships were sent out to sea to avoid the storm. The Martin Luther King Memorial dedication was postponed. Most or all of these preparations affected the government. After the hurricane hit there were consequences. There was flooding and many power outages. 260 Vermont roads were affected. People were stranded on Ocracoke Island. Over 8,500 people ended up in Red Cross Shelters. Airports re-opened after canceling for a weekend. The US gov. says that wind damage will exceed $1 billion. The US Navy sent 3 warships to help with search and rescue. The death toll was approximately 40 people across 11 states. Approximately 3.3 million ended up without power. The Outer Banks highway faces extensive, costly repairs. Even though hurricane irene was over exaggerated, as you can see from above, there were still consequences. This hurricane ended up costing the government money from wind damage, road repairs, etc.