hurricane irene

Hurricane Irene may end up being one of the 10 costliest catastrophes in U.S. history. Industry experts currently put the storm’s damage at $7 billion to $10 billion; however, much of that destruction may not be covered by insurance because it was caused by flooding and not winds. Flooding is often excluded from standard insurance policies.

Cleanup efforts have begun in communities that were devastated by Hurricane Irene over the weekend. Although trucks and supplies from the Federal Emergency Management Agency are en route, access to some areas has been cut off by floodwaters that washed out or damaged roads and bridges. “Irene was gonna land somewhere. We’re not Manhattan, our small streams quickly became big rivers,” Vermont Gov.

One of Hurricane Irene‘s unfortunate structural victims this weekend was the 141-year-old Bartonsville Covered Bridge in Bartonsville, Vermont.

Before weakening to a tropical storm, the first hurricane of the season hit the Eastern seaboard with torrential rains, strong winds and floods. Hurricane Irene made landfall on Saturday in North Carolina, moved northward along the coast then slammed into Little Egg Inlet, N.J., as a Category 1 storm. Despite predictions, Irene then lost steam as it lumbered toward New England.

Hurricane Irene is on her way and preliminary reports suggests she’ll be a big one. To get an idea of just how big though, check out this aerial video of Irene filmed from the International Space Station as it passed over the Eastern seaboard.

Much of eastern United States is getting ready for the arrival of Hurricane Irene. More than 50 million people live in the projected path of the Category 2 storm, which is expected to make landfall along North Carolina’s Outer Banks on Friday.