Reduced to post-tropical cyclone, Irene is heading toward Canada Sunday night after inflicting less-than-expected damage on the eastern U.S. coast.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has already announced that the worst of Irene had passed for much of the East Coast.

Still, U.S. officials warned the storm's spell could remain with deadly floods continuing to pose hazards.

"I want people to understand that this is not over," President Barack Obama said from the White House in the afternoon. "The impacts of this storm will be felt for some time, and the recovery effort will last for weeks or longer."

WORST PASSED, THREATS REMAIN

Irene came to the East Coast in the morning after making landfall in North Carolina as category one hurricane. It lost some strength as it hit the New York City, with winds dropping to 65 mph by 9 a.m. eastern time (1300 GMT) and was thus downgraded to tropical storm status, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

 

As it moved up into New England, the storm weakened even further, with maximum sustained winds dropping to 50 mph when it approaches the Canadian border by 8 p.m. (2400 GMT), the center said.

The storm has claimed at least 20 lives across eight states by Sunday evening, with many of whom killed when toppled trees crashed their houses or cars. Others died in road accidents as the storm led to flooding and failed traffic lights.

However, the worst-case scenario predicted for some of the cities and states had not come true. Even in the New York City, where 370,000 had been evacuated for fears of damaging flash flooding and mass transit was shut down for the first time in the city's history, no major wind damage, deaths or serious injuries were reported. The first-ever evacuation order was lifted at 3 p.m.(1900 GMT), and the subways will reopen on Monday.

Washington D.C. seemed to have suffered only minor damages, city officials said, though the full picture would need more time to assess.

The biggest problem in the capital is power outages. About 28,000 to 29,000 customers were out of power, Robyn Johnson, Public Affairs Officer of D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, told Xinhua.

FLOODING REMAINS BIG THREAT

"Many Americans are still at serious risk of power outages and flooding, which could get worse in the coming days as rivers swell past their banks," Obama said.

Much of the mid-Atlantic and New England states, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, remained under flood warnings and watches Sunday night.

In New Jersey, where more than one million people were evacuated from the shore for fears of coastal flooding, people are now facing a new challenge -- inland flooding, according to Governor Chris Christie. The state suffered extensive flood damage along swollen inland rivers.

"Tomorrow is going to be a very difficult day," he said Sunday evening. "Don't go to work if you do not have to."

It would be too early to tell the economic toll of Irene, but Christie warned it might be enormous.

"I've got to imagine the damage estimates will be in the billions of dollars if not the tens of billions of dollars," he said on a NBC News program Sunday.

Irene slammed into Little Egg Inlet, New Jersey, about 5:30 a.m. (2130 GMT) Sunday, when it remained a Category one hurricane with sustained winds of 75 mph, the NHC said.

RECOVERY NEEDS TIME

While some of the disruptions caused by the storm may end soon, like removing fallen trees or returning road traffic to normal, others may need more time. One of the biggest challenges is to restore power supply.

"Power may be out for days in some areas, and we will support our state and local partners in every way that we can as they work to restore power in those areas," Obama said.

More than seven million people and businesses from Carolinas to Maine were knocked out of power, as power lines were downed by strong winds and heavy rains. Some power plants shut down or reduced operation out of precaution. While some of the power supply has been restored gradually, more than five million customers remained in the dark by Sunday evening.

Flights resumed Sunday at airports around Washington, Philadelphia and Richmond, after more than 11,000 flights were canceled nationwide over the weekend. Three major airports in the New York area --Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark-- are expected to reopen Monday.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet