According to NY Times' reports tropical storm Irene swept through the New York City area on Sunday morning lacking anywhere near the force that had been feared, but still cutting power to more than a million people, toppling trees and causing sporadic flooding in some parts of the city.
Though the storm packed strong winds and heavy rain, it never dealt the kind of punch that forecasters had feared. There were no reports of major damage to skyscrapers, for instance, and officials said the flooding appeared to be limited. People awoke anxious that they would see destruction out their windows, only to find a scene more typical after a major summer storm.
Still, even after the storm was downgraded to a tropical storm as it moved up the Eastern Seaboard, it tossed floodwater onto the coastline of New Jersey and New York. The National Hurricane Center said the storm made landfall near Little Egg Inlet, north of Atlantic City, shortly after 5:30 a.m., and made it to New York City by about 9 a.m.
Flooding was reported around the five boroughs, with the storm surge overcoming sea walls in several places around the city. In Staten Island, several dozen people had to be rescued from homes that had filled with water.
The full extent of the flooding was not immediately clear on Sunday, but from daybreak onward, forecasts offered some encouragement. City officials said it appeared that the hurricane moved more quickly than they expected, meaning less damage as the storm passed through the metropolitan area.
A storm surge at high tide predicted to be between four and eight feet had caused flooding across the city. In the Battery breached the seawall in several spots, including near the Staten Island Ferry Terminal in Lower Manhattan. Flooding was more serious in low-lying neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island with water, in some places, reaching people’s thighs and residents using kayaks to navigate inundated streets….
According to New York Post reports: "Once the tropical storm subsided, the water that had breached the seawall in Battery Park City receded back into where the Hudson River meets the harbor. There was some flooding in SoHo and the West Village.
The Mercantile Exchange confirmed the New York Stock Exchange would be open as normal Monday morning."
For more coverage check out http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/29/nyregion/wind-and-rain-from-hurricane-irene-lash-new-york.html?ref=global-home
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