Hurricane Irene Hits Vermont the Hardest: Was the U.S. Prepared?

The East Coast feared the worst as Hurricane Irene hit Puerto Rico last week and continued to barrel toward Florida, but now that the dreaded weekend is over damage reports are lower than expected.

Originally, it was believed 65 million people in America could be affected by the hurricane, so much of New England was in a state of emergency for the past several days, stocking up on food and preparing dangerous structures, such as nuclear plants and refineries, for the worst.

Some areas were still hit hard -- particularly in the the Catskill Mountains spanning from upstate New York to Vermont, where several small towns were severely flooded. Some reports say a few towns in Vermont were almost completely underwater.

However, major cities like NYC and Boston were barely touched, which means Kenny Chesney's Massachusetts cancellation was for naught.

Better safe than sorry, right?

President Obama is not letting his guard down, though. As the East Coast caught its breath on Sunday, he made an announcement concerning the hurricane with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano at his side.

He said, "I want people to understand that this is not over. 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."

So far, at least 22 people have been confirmed or presumed dead, and The Bellingham Herald estimates damages to be in the $5 billion to $7 billion range, including damage done to homes, businesses, roads, and bridges.