Hurricane Irene killed 21 people and left a £27billion trail of destruction in it's wake - but there was relief in New York as the city escaped the worst of the storm. Parts of downtown Manhattan were flooded, including several apartment blocks, but the damage was nowhere near as widespread as had been feared. A flood surge of up to 8ft had been predicted, but in the end just 1ft washed over the banks of the surrounding rivers and onto the streets. Within an hour of Irene passing, the sun had come out and New York began to resume normal life - with joggers taking to the streets which minutes before were underwater.Weathermen also downgraded Irene to a Tropical Storm just as she passed above the city. But outside of New York the damage had earlier been far more severe and the hurricane was blamed for at least 21 deaths - including two children - as she rampaged up the East coast of the U.S
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