Storm Lingers

The lead article in today’s New York Times, “Storm Cost Seen to Rank in Top 10 of U.S. Disasters,” describes an ongoing reevaluation of Hurricane Irene, initially seen as a fizzle with possible overreactions by the Mayor of New York City and the Governor of Connecticut.

The storm affected an unusually wide area of the East Coast on the weekend prior to Labor Day. It darkened Broadway shows, kept commuters at home, scooted vacationers off the beaches and caused massive flooding in its wake, with the full results of that yet to be seen.

The economic costs of all this area significant. And since most of the damage was caused by flooding instead of high winds, a lot of it won’t be covered by insurance. Fortunately, FEMA is much more professional today than it was under George W. Bush, and the federal government is ready to step into the breach.

Meanwhile, concern continues in southern Vermont, where authorities had to airlift food and water into a number of towns isolated by the flood waters. And many in Connecticut and elsewhere are still without power.

As the recovery efforts conclude, and rebuilding gets underway, the area will get a slight boost from the jobs created as a result. But that’s not much comfort to those whose homes or livelihoods were affected by this natural disaster.