Weather, Hurricane Irene | featured news

Nearly 100,000 people were ordered to flee the rising Susquehanna River on Thursday as the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee dumped more rain across the Northeast, socking areas still recovering from Hurricane Irene and closing major highways at the morning rush. At Binghamton, N.Y., the wide river broke a flood record and flowed over retaining walls downtown. Interstate 88 was closed and emergency responders scrambled to evacuate holdouts who didn’t heed warnings to leave neighborhoods.

The price in disaster relief will further balloon a government account that already is a source of partisan friction between President Obama and Congress.

President Barack Obama traveled to flood-stricken New Jersey Sunday to survey the damage caused by Hurricane Irene.

Tropical Storm Irene destroyed roads and marooned residents in more than a dozen central and southern Vermont towns in a matter of hours. The disaster took four days to unfold on Camels Hump Road, just east of Chittenden County.

Retail sales at major chain stores beat analysts' expectations, rising 4.4% year-over-year in August, according to Thomson Reuters' tally of 23 retailers. Discounters, including Target Corp. and Costco Wholesale Corp., did well as East Coasters stocked up before Hurricane Irene.

President Obama on Wednesday declared a major disaster area in New York state because of Hurricane Irene, while residents of neighboring New Jersey faced fresh flooding as rivers were pushed to their limits by runoff from northern regions.

The head of the federal disaster assistance agency says recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Irene will proceed regardless of a dwindling emergency fund.

The total damages from Hurricane Irene have yet to be assessed, but already the White House and congressional Republicans are fighting over the ...

As the Passaic River in New Jersey threatened to crest to dangerously high levels Tuesday, residents continued to battle the floodwaters that have forced thousands of people to relocate, authorities said.

The $7 billion in estimated losses from Hurricane Irene compound the vast damage caused by weather this year. Yet, despite billions paid out for floods, tornadoes and earthquakes, big insurance companies can expect another profitable year.