Hurricane Irene devastates parts of US East Coast
29 Aug 2011
Clearing up operations have started on the US East Coast following the devastation wrought by hurricane Irene, which killed at least 21 people.
The hurricane is now raging in Canada's north-east after it caused severe flooding in the US and left around 5 million homes without power.
However, it did not cause as much damage in New York as officials had feared.
President Barack Obama has warned of the impact of the hurricane, which he said would be felt for some time. He added that the recovery effort would last for weeks.
He said flooding and power cuts were still a risk and also swollen rivers could spill over their banks.
Towns and suburbs from New Jersey to Vermont took the heaviest impact of the storm, as driving rains and flood tides damaged homes and disrupted power to more than three million people in New Jersey, Connecticut and New York.
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