As Irene made landfall in New York City on Sunday, August 29 at 9 a.m. EDT and moved northward, it knocked out power and brought flooding rainfall there and throughout New England. Connecticut received about 8 inches of rain, flooding rivers and streams. As of August 30, 450,000 people were still without power. Irene's rains were relentless in Vermont. Vermont fared worse than other states along the east coast, and it was the worst impact the state has had from a hurricane. About a foot of rain fell in the entire state, destroying four to six of the iconic covered bridges, and washing out or damaging over 260 roads. The Governor proclaimed this is the worst flooding in the history of the state. New Hampshire dealt with the same issues as well because of the White Mountains. Whenever a tropical storm or hurricane push up against higher terrain, such as mountains, it creates what is called orographic uplift, where air is forced to rise against the mountains and tropical moisture is wrung out much like a sponge, bringing even more rainfall.