Emergency provisions had to be airlifted on Tuesday to dozens of communities stranded by floodwaters as torrential weekend rains dumped by the massive storm system washed away roads and sent rivers cascading over their banks.
Although the much-hyped direct-hit on New York failed to translate into major damage or casualties in America's most populous city, heavy rain in places like the Catskill Mountains proved a ticking disaster time-bomb.
Three days after the storm's passage, marooned families were still waiting anxiously for the national guard and firefighters to bring food and water to towns swamped by the floodwaters.
In other places, rescuers have been ferrying thousands of people -- including the elderly, children and babies -- to safety in rubber motorboats.
The main highway to Wilmington, Vermont was clogged with mud and Irene had turned other roads into deathtrap chasms after dumping two months worth of rain (8.3 inches, 21 centimeters) in less than a day.
"The problem is inaccessibility," emergency operations supervisor Dave Miller told AFP as teams struggled to pull trucks out of the sludge and remove fallen trees that had perilously dragged down power lines.
The drastic situation was mirrored in parts of New Jersey and upstate New York, where schools and community centers turned into makeshift Red Cross emergency shelters were nearing full capacity.
Irene has caused billions of dollars of damage and it's going to take a long time before things get back to normal in New England and the Catskills. But remember, if it was up to Republicans like Ron Paul and Eric Cantor, states, counties, and communities would be on their own when disasters like this hit. Survival of the richest and all, folks. When it comes to American exceptionalism, it's Republicans who say "No we can't!"
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