Irene batters US
PR dla Zagranicy
Peter Gentle
29.08.2011 06:43
Poland's national airline LOT cancelled flights to New York on Saturday and Sunday as Tropical Storm Irene ripped through the US East Coast.
hamptons Bay, NY after Irene; photo - EPA/Peter Foley
Twenty one people lost their lives and millions of Americans throughout the northeastern United States were left in the dark and flooded after Irene, downgraded from a hurricane, battered the region before moving intoCanada.
Suburban New Jersey and rural Vermont were hit particularly
hard.
"It's very serious for us at the moment in Vermont. The top two-thirds of the state are inundated with rapidly rising waters, which we anticipate will be an issue for the next 24
hours," Robert Stirewalt of the Vermont Emergency Management Agency told the Reuters agency.
President Obama told a TV audience that the storm still posed a threat.
"Many Americans are still at serious risk of power outages and flooding which could get worse in the coming days as rivers swell past their banks," Mr Obama said. (pg)