Irene’s impact expected to break record

Hurricane Irene is very likely to be the 10th billion-dollar disaster of 2011, breaking 2008′s record for number of billion-dollar disasters a year, according to preliminary estimates.

Between the summer floods, tornados, blizzards and drought, 2011 had already racked up nine natural disasters that cost at least $1 billion each, tying 2008′s record. If damage estimates hold, Irene would make 2011 a record-breaker.
No one knows what the final toll of Irene will be, but estimates were high as the hurricane churned toward the Carolinas on Friday (Aug. 26) as a Category 2 storm with winds of up to 105 miles per hour (169 kilometers per hour). By 5:00 p.m. ET on Friday, the National Weather Service reported that winds were picking up speed along the North Carolina coast. Hurricane-force winds are expected in that region overnight Friday, with hurricane conditions arriving along the mid-Atlantic coast by Saturday afternoon. Read more…