A downgraded yet devastating Irene storm left 21 dead, disrupted power in 6 million homes and businesses and caused damages worth billions of dollars across the East Coast before crossing into Canada late Sunday, which set off cleanup and repair efforts that could go on for weeks.

Hurricane Irene was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone as it was heading toward Canada on Sunday night, but it had already killed at least 21 people across the United States, according to CNN.

Six of the deaths were reported in North Carolina; four each in Virginia and Pennsylvania; two in New York; and one each in Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey and Florida. Authorities are trying to determine whether an additional death reported in New York is connected to the storm, in which case the toll will increase to 22. more >>

Hurricane Irene roared through the Northeast today like a rude, unwelcome guest, leaving at least 18 dead, millions without power, paralyzed cities, and an estimated $8 billion to $15 billion in damages.

Emergency officials said the storm knocked out power to more than 4 million people in six states and the recovery bill is still climbing.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Sunday flooding in his state is widespread and advised residents to remain indoors. more >>

The role of the government in disaster relief is the topic of much discussion as Hurricane Irene, now Tropical Storm Irene, pummels New England.

Inevitable comparisons are being drawn to Hurricane Katrina, which hit New Orleans and surrounding areas in 2005. The response from government during and after that catastrophe was widely seen as inadequate, ineffective and incompetent. President George W. Bush, especially, was widely criticized at the time for not getting more personally involved in leading the response effort.

“If you look at the polling from 2005, President Bush's approval rating dropped 4 or 5 points after Katrina, and he never recovered those 4 or 5 points,” noted Ron Brownstein of the National Journal on ABC's “This Week.” more >>

Republican presidential candidate and Texas congressman Ron Paul thinks the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has done more harm than good. Paul made his opinion clear in an interview on Fox News Sunday as FEMA works to aid the disaster relief efforts from Hurricane Irene, now downgraded to a tropical storm.

Paul is libertarian. As such, he sees a smaller role for government, especially the federal government, in directing emergency response efforts.

On Friday, Paul criticized FEMA in an interview, saying, “FEMA is not a good friend of most people in Texas, because all they do is come in and tell you what to do and can't do, you can't get in your houses, and they hinder the local people and they hinder volunteers from going in, so there's no magic about FEMA.” more >>

New York City is bracing for Hurricane Irene’s wrath late Saturday for fear there may be widespread blackouts, gale-force winds, and a rising storm surge. The unusually slow-moving storm has caused a reported eight deaths and has already left nearly 1 million people without power along the Eastern coastline in Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland and Delaware.

At least 600,000 homes and businesses were without power in North Carolina alone, according to state and utility reports.

“Make sure you know where your flashlights are," Mayor Michael Bloomberg warned New Yorkers at a storm briefing on Saturday. more >>

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a video illustrating the time lapse of Irene, from a tropical storm to a hurricane.

The imagery shows Irene's path from Puerto Rico and the Bahamas when it was a category 3 storm to North Carolina, where the storm made landfall Saturday morning as a category 1. It is now heading for the major metropolitan areas of the Northeast U.S.

NOAA GOES-East satellite documented Irene's movements from Aug. 19 to Aug. 27. more >>