New York
According to the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, about 945,000 New Yorkers were
without power this morning after Hurricane Irene hit Sunday. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said
it could take a week to fully restore power. The Albany Times Union reported one New
York woman was killed after being swept away by floodwaters outside her New Scotland
home. Flooding along the Mohawk and Hudson rivers continued to be a problem, though
officials said the waters might not rise as high as initially thought. The Schoharie County
villages of Schoharie and Middleburgh were devastated by floods that poured into their
downtowns. The Gilboa Dam rose above flood stage, sending water pouring into
Prattsville to the south and Schoharie and Middleburgh to the north. The National
Weather Service reported that the state's most significant rainfall has been in Greene,
Delaware and Ulster counties. The town of East Durham in Greene County reported 13
inches of rain during a 12-hour period on Sunday, and nearly 11 inches in Hyde Park,
Dutchess County. Roads and highways were closed throughout the state due to flooding
or felled trees and power lines, including major highways such as I-90 and I-87.
According to the New York Times, New York City’s subways were operating again by 6
a.m. Monday morning, but there was no service on the Metro-North Railroad, and no
service into New York on New Jersey Transit. The Long Island Rail Road had extremely
limited train service, and Amtrak was not running any trains between Boston and
Philadelphia, and service between New York and Albany was also stopped. Evacuation
orders were common across the state, most notably in New York City, which ordered
approximately 370,000 people to find safer shelter and saw 9,000 evacuees enter 81
emergency shelters, according to the Times.
Connecticut
According to the Hartford Courant, nearly 700,000 Connecticut residents were still
without power as of Monday morning, down from 775,000 Sunday night. There were two
deaths from the storm in Connecticut—a Prospect woman and a man from Bristol.
Additionally, two residents of a heavily damaged East Haven house are currently listed as
missing. Rainfall totals reached as high as 10 inches in the northwest town of
Washington. At least 25 houses in East Haven's Cosey Beach neighborhood were
destroyed. Evacuations were ordered in 32 cities and towns throughout the state, and
about 2,000 residents were in shelters. Myriad roads were closed due to flooding or fallen
debris, including multiple portions of Route 1; Route 4 in Farmington; Route 10 in Avon;
Route 72 in Bristol; and Route 20 in Granby. Amtrak suspended all trains in Connecticut
on Monday. Acela and Northeast Regional service has been halted since Saturday, and an
Amtrak said only service south of Philadelphia would resume Monday. Ferries between
Bridgeport and Port Jefferson, N.Y., were suspended all day Sunday, but will resume
regular schedules Monday. On Saturday, President Obama signed a predisaster
emergency declaration to make federal funds available to the state.
New Hampshire
At its peak, Hurricane Irene cut power to about 165,000 customers across New
Hampshire, according to the Concord Monitor. Many were expected to be in the dark at
least into today as crews repair the lines. There were no deaths in the state but four were
reported injured due to falling tree limbs. More than a dozen emergency shelters opened
across the state, including a Red Cross shelters in Keene (Recreation Center), Nashua
(Nashua North High School), Bow (Bow High School) and Kingston (Sanborn Regional
High School). The Union Leader reported the storm forced more than 100 road closures
and nearly caused a breach of the Campton Pond dam in Campton, as the Mad and
Pemigewasset rivers flooded. Due to the Mad River flood, all homes on Route 175 south
of the dam were evacuated. Evacuations were also ordered in Littleton, Plaistow, Goshen,
Hart's Location, Bow and Bartlett. The National Weather Service also predicted moderate
flooding of rivers last night and into today, including the Smith River in Bristol, the
Warner River in Davisville, the Soucook River near Pembroke and the Contoocook River
in Henniker. Minor flooding was expected on the Suncook River in Chichester. On
Saturday, President Obama signed a predisaster emergency declaration to make federal
funds available to the state.
New Jersey
According to the Newark Star Ledger, Hurricane Irene was responsible for six deaths in
New Jersey and the evacuation of nearly 1 million residents. The number of homes and
businesses without power reached 923,000 on Sunday, and officials warned it could be
more than a week before the last customer is restored. Gov. Chris Christie said some
5,000 people remained in shelters as of Sunday night, down from 15,000 earlier in the
day. That number could climb again as evacuations in flooded areas continue. Irene
dumped as much as 14 inches of rain on the state, with most areas seeing 6 to 10 inches.
Fourteen areas of New Jersey, chiefly in the northern counties of Morris, Bergen and
Passaic, experienced major flooding, including a half-dozen that have—or are expected
to—set records. Roads were closed throughout the state due to flooding or felled trees
and power lines. All NJ Transit rail service remains suspended today, with the exception
of the Atlantic City line, running from the resort to Philadelphia. Bus service will run on
a limited weekend schedule. State climatologist David Robinson said Irene is likely to go
down as the second-most damaging storm in New Jersey history, after what he called the
"Great Flood of 1903." New Jersey American Water, which serves about 2.5 million
people in 17 counties asked residents in to conserve the water flowing from their taps,
after Irene affected operations at water treatment plants in Millburn, Bridgewater and
Colts Neck, and other facilities. The company also issued a boil-water advisory for
residents of West Orange, Short Hills, Millburn, Maplewood, Irvington, Springfield and
Summit. On Saturday, President Obama signed a predisaster emergency declaration to
make federal funds available to the state.