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MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - Vermont towns battled floods of historic
proportions, utility crews struggled to restore power to 5 million
people along the East Coast, and big-city commuters coped with
transit-system disruptions Monday as the rainy remnants of
Hurricane Irene finally spun into Canada.


      The storm killed at least two dozen people, forced the
cancellation of about 9,000 flights, washed away roads and bridges
and toppled trees and power lines.


      It never became the big-city nightmare forecasters and public
officials had warned about, but it caused severe flooding in New
England, well inland from the coastal areas that bore the brunt of
the storm's winds.


      In Vermont and upstate New York, normally placid streams turned
into raging torrents tumbling with tree limbs, cars and parts of
bridges.


      Hundreds of Vermonters were told to leave their homes after
Irene dumped several inches of rain on the landlocked state. Gov.
Peter Shumlin called it the worst flooding in a century, and the
state was declared a federal disaster area.


      Communities were cut off, roads washed out, and at least a dozen
bridges lost, including at least three historic covered bridges.


      "We prepared for the worst and we got the worst in central and
southern Vermont," Shumlin said Monday. "We have extraordinary
infrastructure damage."


      Video posted on Facebook showed a 141-year-old covered bridge in
Rockingham, Vt., swept away by the roiling, muddy Williams River.
In another video, an empty car somersaulted down a river in
Bennington.


      "It's pretty fierce. I've never seen anything like it," said
Michelle Guevin, who spoke from a Brattleboro restaurant after
leaving her home in nearby Newfane.


      Officials at one point thought they might have to flood the
state capital, Montpelier, to relieve pressure on a dam. But by
Monday morning that threat had eased.


      President Barack Obama, speaking from the Rose Garden, pledged
the federal government would be doing everything in its power to
ensure people have what they need to get back on their feet, saying
it will take time to recover from the storm.


      Across the Northeast, commuters coped with slowly restarting
transit systems as the workweek began.


      In New York City, limited bus service began Sunday and subway
service was partially restored at 6 a.m. Monday. Commuter rail
service to Long Island and New Jersey was being partially restored,
but trains from the city's northern suburbs were suspended because
of flooding and mudslides. New Jersey Transit rail service into the
city was suspended as crews assessed storm damage and made
necessary repairs.


      Riders were warned to expect long lines and long waits, but
early commuters reported empty subways and smooth rides.


      Mentor Vargas, 54, said he made his 40-minute trip on a New York
subway train without incident. "It seems people aren't going to
work today," he said on his way to work at a repair company in
Staten Island.


      Likewise, Philadelphia's transit system was mostly restarted
Monday, though some train lines weren't running because of downed
trees and wire damage.


      Utilities scrambled to restore power across the Eastern Seaboard
with help from thousands of out-of-state repair crews, but it could
be days before the lights are back on in some homes.


      Irene smashed power poles, ripped transmission wires and flooded
electrical stations over the weekend, blacking out more than 7.4
million homes and businesses from South Carolina to Maine. Nearly 5
million power customers remained in the dark.


      The New York Stock Exchange was open for business as usual
Monday.


      Airports in New York and around the Northeast reopened to a
backlog of hundreds of thousands of passengers whose flights were
canceled over the weekend.


      One private estimate put damage along the coast at $7 billion,
far from any record for a natural disaster.


      Irene had at one time been a major hurricane, with winds higher
than 110 mph as it headed toward the U.S. It was a tropical storm
with 65 mph winds by the time it hit New York. It had broken up and
slowed to 50 mph by the time it reached Canada.


      Chris Fogarty, director of the Canadian Hurricane Centre, warned
of flooding and wind damage in eastern Canada and said the heaviest
rainfall was expected in Quebec, where about 250,000 homes were
without power.


      At least 25 people died in the U.S., most of them when trees
crashed through roofs or onto cars. One Vermont woman was swept
away and feared drowned in the Deerfield River.


      Communities in New Jersey and Pennsylvania along the Delaware
River prepared for possible flooding but got a bit of good news
Monday when the National Weather Service lowered the expected crest
level of the river. In Pennsylvania, the Schuylkill River was
steadily dropping.


      In Pompton Lakes, N.J., a house exploded in an evacuated flood
zone early Monday. No injuries were reported. Officials said
natural gas service had not been turned off in the neighborhood.


      In the South, authorities still were not sure how much damage
had been done but expressed relief that it wasn't worse.


      "Thank God it weakened a little bit," said Virginia Gov. Bob
McDonnell, who toured a hard-hit Richmond neighborhood where large,
old-growth trees uprooted and crushed houses and automobiles.

      Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers
Samantha Gross, Beth Fouhy, Samantha Bomkamp, Verena Dobnik,
Jonathan Fahey, Tom Hays, Colleen Long and Larry Neumeister in New
York; Brock Vergakis in Virginia Beach, Va.; Marc Levy in Chester,
Pa. and Jeff McMillan in Philadelphia; and Seth Borenstein and
Christopher S. Rugaber in Washington.

Gallery

Weather and Climate News

The storm that had been Hurricane Irene
crossed into Canada overnight but wasn't yet through with the U.S.,
where flood waters threatened Vermont towns and big city commuters
had to make do with slowly reawakening transit systems.

Vermont battles historic floods in Irene's wake

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