Days after withstanding a rare earthquake, large swaths of the densely populated U.S. East Coast have weathered Irene, a once-powerful hurricane later downgraded to a tropical storm. Irene drenched New York Sunday after coming ashore over coastal areas farther south. At least 18 deaths are blamed on the storm, which prompted a massive mobilization of federal, state and local governments.
Hurricane Irene Hits US East Coast - Aug. 28, 2011
Eddie Lima, left, and Nancy Zakhary wade through a flooded area near the Brooklyn Bridge in New York to take some pictures, Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011. Hurricane Irene bore down on a dark and quiet New York early Sunday, bringing winds and rapidly rising seawa
A police officer is parked at the end of a flooded street in Brooklyn, New York, Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011. Seawater surged into the streets of Manhattan on Sunday as Tropical Storm Irene slammed into New York, downgraded from a hurricane but still unleashing
Waves crash over the shore during high tide during a storm surge from Hurricane Irene in Bayshore, N.Y., on Long Island, Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Pat Valent helps friends clear out belongings from their severely storm-damaged beach home in the Sandbridge area of Virginia Beach, Va., after Hurricane Irene hit the region, Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011. Irene inflicted scattered damage over such a broad area
Floodwaters from the Albemarle Sound rise over a mini golf course at dusk on the Outer Banks in Nags Head, N.C., Saturday, Aug. 27, 2011 as Hurricane Irene leaves the North Carolina coast. Irene knocked out power and piers in North Carolina, clobbered Vir
Two Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority trains sit in water on flooded tracks at Trenton train station Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011, in Trenton, New Jersey, as rains from Hurricane Irene are causing inland flooding of rivers and streams. (AP Photo
Two residents walk on their road which was not passable after the effects of Hurricane Irene dropped trees in their neighborhood in Massapequa, N.Y., on Long Island, Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Brian Brown, left, of California, Md., and Ryan Frederick, of Hollywood, Md., wade through floodwater in Leonardtown, Md., after Hurricane Irene Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011. (AP Photo/Steve Ruark)
Lower Manhattan is shrouded in clouds in New York, Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011. Hurricane Irene bore down on a dark and quiet New York early Sunday, bringing winds and rapidly rising seawater that threatened parts of the city. The rumble of the subway system wa
A fire truck drives through a flooded street in Brooklyn, New York, Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011. Seawater surged into the streets of Manhattan on Sunday as Tropical Storm Irene slammed into New York, downgraded from a hurricane but still unleashing furious win
Rising water breaches the sea wall at Battery Park, in lower Manhattan Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011 in New York. Hurricane Irene bore down on a dark and quiet New York early Sunday, bringing winds and rapidly rising seawater that threatened parts of the city. (
Lechelle, right, and her daughter Haleigh Spalding sit in front of their flooded home after a storm surge on the Outer Banks in Kitty Hawk, N.C., Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011 in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene after it left the North Carolina coast. (AP Photo/C
Gary Atlas, of Brighton Beach, N.Y., runs along the windswept Coney Island boardwalk in New York despite the onset of Hurricane Irene in the area Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011. Rainfall overflowed sewers and seawater lapped at sidewalks at the edges of New York C
A flooded road is seen in Hatteras Island, N.C., Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011, after Hurricane Irene swept through the area Saturday cutting the roadway in five locations.
A member of the Delaware State Police walks away from a house that was heavily damaged by a possible tornado in Lewes, Del., Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011, after Hurricane Irene churned along the Delaware coast overnight. From North Carolina to New Jersey, Hurric
Rising water and waves from Hurrican Irene surround a beachfront house Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011 in Hampton Bays, N.Y. Forecasters said the storm remained capable of causing ruinous flooding with a combination of storm surge, high tides and 6 to 12 inches of
Debris from Hurricane Irene collects in the water at Whalebone Sound near Nags Head, N.C., Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011. Initial reports suggested light damages in many areas from Irene, a lower-strength hurricane when it struck the U.S. (AP Photo, Robert Ray)