Hurricane Irene damages exceed $10bn

Hurricane Irene has caused more than USD 10 billion in damages to the United States after it swept the east coast with heavy winds and flooding, a leading risk-assessment firm says.

Eqecat, a risk assessment company, has estimated that over 40 million people living on US east coast were hit with worst damages by Hurricane Irene.

“Irene caused significant damage to property,” the firm, Eqecat, said in a report.

Earlier, US President Barack Obama declared a “major disaster” in North Carolina and New York States following the floods caused by Hurricane Irene.

At least 40 people have been killed across 10 states by the storm and millions of Americans on the east coast are still without power as several electricity stations remain flooded.

The 805 kilometer wide hurricane, with winds of up to 185 kilometers per hour, swept up the US east coast on Saturday.

The US National Hurricane Center downgraded Irene, which was earlier a hurricane, to a post-tropical cyclone, by the time it reached to New York on Sunday.