Power Returns to Some Areas After Irene Passes

NEW YORK — Power is returning for hundreds of thousands of people after Hurricane Irene passed through coastal states in the South.

Repair crews rushed out in Virginia, the Carolinas and Maryland Sunday after Irene turned north. An enormous job lies ahead. Irene flooded power stations, toppled trees and tore down electrical wires. More than four million homes and businesses are still without power.

In Manhattan, Consolidated Edison said it was optimistic that it wouldn't need to cut power to the financial district. So far, sensitive underground power lines haven't been flooded, the company says.