Hurricane Irene 2011: Latest Facts, News, Photos & Maps
As the first major hurricane of the 2011 season, Hurricane Irene came ashore the Outer Banks of North Carolina as a Category 1 storm after having caused considerable flooding to island nations located in the Caribbean and causing more than a billion dollars of destruction in the Bahamas alone.¹ The potential for devastation resulted in emergency planners shutting down New York City's subway network, the closure of the area's three airports, and an evacuation of more than 300,000 people from low-lying areas. The East Coast began a lengthy cleanup and recovery effort that stretched as far as Vermont as severe flooding followed in the storm's wake. ² The natural disaster resulted in at least 45 casualties and experts assessed the total damage, including uninsured losses, could range from $5 billion to $7 billion.³
Contents
- Hurricane Facts
- Latest News, Photos & Videos
- Special Reports & Blogs
- Satellite, Aerial Imagery & Maps
- Disaster Education Resources
- Quakeline® Literature Searches
- Background Information & Resources on Hurricanes
- MCEER Publications
Hurricane Facts
- National Hurricane Center: Hurricane Irene Advisory Archive
- Washington Post: 45 Casualties
- Los Angeles Times: $5-$7 Billion in Damage
Latest News, Photos & Videos
- (9-1-10) – Los Angeles Times: Taxpayers Will Foot Big Share of Post-Irene Flooding Costs
- (9-1-10) – Buffalo News: Storm Cleanup Will Take Months
- (8-31-10) – Christian Science Monitor: Hurricane Irene in Pictures
- (8-31-10) – New York Times: Hurricane Cost Seen as Ranking Among Top Ten
- (8-30-10) – NPR: Costs of Irene Add up as FEMA Runs Out of Cash
- (8-30-10) – Buffalo News: Awash in Floodwaters Left by Irene
- (8-30-10) – New York Times: Storm's Push North Leaves Punishing Inland Floods
- (8-29-10) – CBC News: Irene's U.S. Death Toll Rises as Cleanup Begins
- (8-29-10) – Christian Science Monitor: Vermont Battles Record-Setting Floods
- (8-29-10) – Wall Street Journal: Hurricane Irene Leaves Trail of Damage Far Inland
- (8-29-10) – NPR: Wet, Deadly and Expensive as Cleanup Begins
- (8-29-10) – Los Angeles Times: Storm's Economic Damage Less Than Feared
- (8-29-10) – New York Times: Hurricane Lost Steam as Experts Misjudged Structure
- (8-29-10) – BBC: Vermont in Flood as US Counts Storm Cost
- (8-29-10) – Bloomberg: U.S. Starts Cleanup
- (8-29-10) – Guardian (UK): Hurricane Irene's Trail of Destruction
Special Reports & Blogs
- Christian Science Monitor: State by State Damage Reports
- FEMA: President Declares Disaster for New York
- University at Buffalo: Powerful Reminders of the Vulnerability of Eastern Infrastructure
- The Atlantic: Deconstructing the Hurricane Irene Hype
- New York Times: How Irene Lived Up to the Hype
Satellite, Aerial Imagery & Maps
- New York Times: New York City Hurricane Evacuation Zones
- NASA: Latest Storm Images and Data
- USGS: Map of Flood and High Flow Conditions within United States
- Huffington Post: Hurricane Irene's Path
- New York Times: Flooding, Power Failures, Rainfall and Damage from Hurricane Irene
Disaster Education Resources
- MCEER: Hurricane Education Resources
- MCEER: Flood Hazard Resources
- NASA: Hurricane Education Resources
Quakeline® Literature Searches
Background Information & Resources on Hurricanes
- NOAA: Tropical Cyclone Preparedness Guide
- National Hurricane Center: Hurricane Preparedness
- Atlantic Oceanographic & Meteorological Laboratory: Frequently Asked Questions
- National Hurricane Center: Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale
- National Hurricane Center: Worldwide Tropical Cyclone Names
- National Hurricane Center: Worldwide Tropical Cyclone Centers
- NASA: Specific Hurricanes in History
MCEER Publications
Additional details and purchasing information for each of these 16 technical reports is available at the MCEER Publications Catalog.
- Enhancements to Hospital Resiliency: Improving Emergency Planning for and Response to Hurricanes
- MCEER–09–0007
- Hurricane Gustav Reconnaissance: Damage Survey using the VIEWS System
- MCEER–08–SP08
- Hurricane Gustav Reconnaissance: Lessons Learned by New Orleans Hospitals from Katrina to Gustav
- MCEER–08–SP07
- Damage to Engineered Bridges from Wind, Storm Surge and Debris in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina
- MCEER–08–SP05
- Remote Sensing for Resilient Multi-Hazard Disaster Response, Volume V: Integration of Remote Sensing Imagery and VIEWS Field Data for Post-Hurricane Charley Building Damage Assessment
- MCEER–08–0024
- Remote Sensing for Resilient Multi-Hazard Disaster Response, Volume IV: A Study of Multi-Temporal and Multi-Resolution SAR Imagery for Post-Katrina Flood Monitoring in New Orleans
- MCEER–08–0023
- Damage to Engineered Buildings and Lifelines from Wind, Storm Surge and Debris following Hurricane Katrina
- MCEER–07–SP03
- Public Health and Environmental Infrastructure Implications of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
- MCEER–07–SP02
- Advanced Damage Detection for Hurricane Katrina: Integrating Remote Sensing Images and VIEWS Field Reconnaissance
- MCEER–06–SP02
- Hospital Decision Making in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina: The Case of New Orleans
- MCEER–06–SP01
- MCEER/NHRAIC Response to Hurricane Charley: Collection of Satellite-Reference Building Damage Information in the Aftermath of Hurricane Charley
- MCEER–04–SP04