Hopatcong Historian: Irene 2nd Worst Natural Disaster Ever

Hurricane Irene will go down as one of the worst natural disasters to ever hit the East Coast.

And though its presence was felt in Hopatcong—evidenced by the more than 1,000 without electricity as of Tuesday morning and the snapped trees, floods and closed streets—it was worse elsewhere, sending thousands of evacuees into shelters, unsure of when or if they'd return home.

Still, the storm ranks high on Hopatcong's all-time list. How high? Hopatcong historian Marty Kane said in an email Hurricane Irene was "probably Lake Hopatcong's second-worst recorded event."

"The great flood of 2000 had the lake more than a food higher than Irene and caused widespread damage to area roads," the Lake Hopatcong Historical Museum president said.

"This storm compares to be on par with the flooding and damage of Hurricane Diane in 1955."

Hurricane Floyd, however, didn't have a major impact on the lake area, Kane said.

Kane also said the Lake Hopatcong Historical Museum has photos of Hopatcong during hurricanes Diane and Floyd.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this article misinterpreted Kane and said Hurricane Floyd occured in 2000.