Natural Disaster | featured news

Stocks are rising after Tropical Storm Irene wound up being less severe than many analysts had anticipated.

The Washington area began to return to normal Monday after a lashing by the former hurricane Irene, but hundreds of thousands of residents remained without power, and several local school systems were closed

Hurricane Irene could cost U.S. state and local governments billions of dollars in damages, but funds from the federal government might ultimately cover much of this expense.

Hurricane Irene knocked out power to nearly 1 million customers in Virginia; it was being restored in some areas today. Dominion Virginia Power said on its website early Sunday that more than 973,000 of its more than 2.4 million customers were without power Sunday morning.

Main stock exchanges Nasdaq, NYSE and BATS expect to open trading on Monday as usual despite Hurricane Irene, although a final decision, especially on opening the Big Board floor, is yet to come.

From North Carolina to Pennsylvania, Hurricane Irene appeared to have fallen short of the doomsday predictions. But with rivers still rising, and roads impassable because of high water and fallen trees, it could be days before the full extent of the damage is known. More than 4.5 million homes and businesses along the coast lost power, and at least 14 deaths were blamed on the storm.

Hurricane Irene became a tropical storm Sunday as it made landfall in New York City, sending the sea across the Coney Island boardwalk and rapids running down some low-lying streets in Manhattan and other boroughs.

Slow-moving Typhoon Nanmadol remained dangerous Sunday despite weakening as it struck the tip of the mountainous northern Philippines, leaving at least eight people dead and scuttling a visit by a U.S. Navy battleship group, officials said. Taiwan issued sea and land warnings and planned to evacuate about 6,000 people in its eastern and southern regions as it braced for the typhoon. Troops and rescue equipment were deployed for any contingency, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said.

Whether you've using the Internet or a cell phone (smart or dumb), here's how you can track Hurricane Irene, access the American Red Cross through Facebook and Twitter, schedule news alerts, connect with others and find loved ones.

Airlines are scrapping more than 9,000 flights this weekend from North Carolina to Boston.