Massive Cleanup Begins After Irene

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The massive cleanup is underway now that Irene's gone. The damage goes beyond power lines.

Kai Jackson explains what's being done to clean up Irene's mess.

Hurricane Irene leaves a trail of destruction across Maryland, knocking out power to 800,000 people and flooding dozens of homes.

Governor Martin O'Malley warns restoration efforts will take many more days.

"The tough part has come where the population centers are, where I-95 is and where the heavy rainfall came," he said.

"I want to offer great appreciation to our county residents, who really did a good job in terms of listening ahead of time, recognizing that this had the potential for a very serious storm," said Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz.

The storm blasted Maryland for almost an entire day. High winds exceeded 70 miles an hour and thousands of trees fell, blocking hundreds of roads.

"We're trying to keep main roads open, the ones that go to critical infrastructure: hospitals, police stations, those types of things," said Richard Muth, MEMA.

At least two Marylanders died in the storm: an 85-year-old Queen Anne's County woman was killed by a tree that collapsed her chimney and a 45-year-old Cambridge man on a breathing machine also died after losing power. He went into cardiac arrest.

Officials believe evacuation orders helped prevent more casualties.

"The prior planning that went into this enables the restoration phase to go to what we believe is smooth," said Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown.

One of the hardest-hit areas was southern Maryland, where almost two dozen homes flooded from almost a foot of rain.

President Barack Obama has declared parts of the state a federal disaster area.