Irene, downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm, swept through the Northeast today, leaving at least 14 dead in its wake, millions without power and an estimated $7 billion to $13 billion in damages.
"We're not out of the woods yet. Irene remains a large and potentially dangerous storm," U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said.
Irene made landfall in Coney Island, N.Y., at 8:45 a.m. this morning as a tropical storm with 65 mph winds, but by 10 a.m. patches of blue sky and sunshine began peeking through in lower Manhattan.
The storm, which created flood conditions up and down the East Coast, is accompanied by heavy rainfall and powerful winds. But Irene appeared to have caused less damage than anticipated in the New York area, and forecasts indicate the tropical storm will weaken in New England and become a post-tropical cyclone tonight or early Monday.
Philadelphia experienced significant local flooding in several areas, but subways, elevated trains and bus service in the city were beginning to return to activity.
More than 4.5 million East Coast homes and businesses are without power and thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes, according to The Associated Press.
In New York City, approximately 9,600 of the 370,000 residents ordered to evacuate their homes spent the stormy night in shelters.
Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images
More than 270,000 in New York lost power, while in New Jersey at least 460,000 statewide are without power. The National Grid reported that 19,000-plus homes in Rhode Island lost power, and 6,000-plus homes are already without power in Massachusetts.
For more on how Hurricane Irene is impacting New York and the surrounding tri-state area, go to ABC News affiliate WABC-TV.
In lower Manhattan at Wall Street and South Street, water from New York's East River breached the seawall this morning, but has since receded.
The north tube of the Holland Tunnel was closed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey due to flooding, but none of the bridges into and out of Manhattan were closed.
Irene made landfall along the coast of New Jersey near Little Egg Inlet, just north of Atlantic City, around 5:35 a.m. The estimated intensity of at landfall was 75 mph.
It was the second time Irene made landfall since slamming into North Carolina Saturday.
The hurricane was moving through southern New England this afternoon.
While Irene's strength has declined and residents return home, government officials are warning the public that the storm still poses safety dangers.
"We encourage you to stay off the roads so much as possible," Napolitano said at Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) news conference.
"We still have a ways to go with Irene," she said.
Some areas are still prone to tridal flooding and heavy will be the ongoing issue as the storm passes through New England today to eastern canada overnight, FEMA officials said.
Officials said it will take time to assess total damage costs but Peter Morici, a professor at University of Maryland predicts that the projected dollar figure will surpass Hurricane Katrina.
"Revised estimates of the direct damage caused by Hurricane Irene are in the range of $20 billion. Add to those the loss of about two days economic activity, spread over a week, across 25 percent of the economy, and an estimated of the losses imposed by Irene is about $40 to 45 billion," Morici said.
Loss of Life
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