AccuWeather.com

By Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist

Aug 30, 2011; 8:18 PM ET

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In this aerial photo workers grade an alternate roadbed alongside Route 4 in Mendon, Vt., Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2011, washed out by flood waters from Tropical Storm Irene Sunday. Vermont Emergency Management officials say they'll use helicopters to airlift food, water and supplies to flood-stricken towns that have been cut off by road and bridge washouts stemming from Hurricane Irene flooding. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)

Even though the center of Irene has long since passed northern New England, some rivers will remain above flood stage through the remainder of the week.

While the sudden, intense rain from Irene led to hundreds of incidents of flash urban and small stream flooding, larger rivers respond more slowly to heavy rainfall and were just cresting around midday Tuesday.

These include the Passaic River at Little Falls and Pine Brook, N.J., the Otter Creek in Rutland, Vt., the Connecticut River in Northampton, Mass. and the Housatonic River in Falls Village, Ct.

The Passaic is not forecast to fall below major flood stage until Friday and not before bringing major flooding and inundating more homes and businesses in the Garden State.

The Otter Creek in Rutland, Vt. is expected to remain above flood stage through Thursday morning, but not before bringing additional flooding many homes and businesses along its path. Other rivers and creeks throughout Vermont have receded rather quickly and many have fallen below flood stage as of midday Tuesday. This is good news for cleanup efforts as the quick receding of the water level will allow people to return to their homes and businesses faster.

Much drier weather will allow rivers and streams to continue to receded over the coming days.

Meanwhile, the Connecticut River across central Connecticut will remain above flood stage through the remainder of tonight before falling below by Wednesday morning. Flooding of low lying areas outside of the river will persist until the river falls below flood stage.

Damage from Irene is likely to be in the tens of billions of dollars.

According to the Department of Energy, nearly 6.7 million utility customers were without power from Irene.

Multiple covered bridges have been washed away in Vermont, some which have stood over streams and rivers for over 100 years. Part of the span of Quechee bridge over the White River was washed away. The 140-year-old bridge at Bartonsville was completely taken out.

Wilkes-Barre, Pa., has had its fill of the Susquehanna over the years and has massive levees to control the waterway. However, it is Solomon's Creek, which flows into the southern part of the city, that has been causing problems in recent years. Early Sunday, the stream rose 11 feet in several hours to the top of newly designed flood walls and gates. Despite the precautionary evacuations of 3,000 people, flooding was avoided. Torrential rain from Irene skewed over the mountains to the east was to blame.

As shocking as the rainfall from Irene was, it may demonstrate the inadequacy of flood control in parts of the highly developed Northeast. For residents along the Passaic and other streams in New Jersey, flooding is getting to be routine.

Too Much Hype? It Depends on Who Did the Hyping