Hurricane Irene
Hurricane IreneArutz Sheva photo: Baruch Gordon

Rocket and mortar attacks have not stopped Israeli children from returning to the classroom this week – but Mother Nature's massive attack on the eastern United States managed what Arab terrorists could not.

Students in at least two schools in Carroll County, Maryland were unable to begin classes on time Wednesday due to the power outages that resulted from Hurricane Irene, according to WTTR AM 1470 News. The time will be reportedly be made up during summer break.

Similar events were reported elsewhere up and down the Eastern Seaboard as municipalities and local authorities worked to clean up the mess from the storm.

A total of 44 people died and some 6.69 million homes and businesses lost power in the fury of Hurricane Irene according to the latest U.S. government statistics.

Electricity companies are still trying to bring power back to households across the Eastern seaboard. The U.S. Energy Department released a report Tuesday that said power had been restored to some 3.84 homes and businesses so far. Utility companies reported they had managed to return electricity and gas to about 57 percent of the households who had lost power in the storm. Irene tore up lines, ripped down cables and flooded towns from North Carolina to Maine.

In rural areas, some of the deaths were attributed to the very generators that should have provided access to life. At least six people died of carbon monoxide poisoning due to generators that either malfunctioned or were improperly used during the monster storm, the ABC Radio News network reported.

New York and Viriginia were the two states with the highest number of customers by the storm, according to utility companies. But nearly a week later, at least half a million customers still have no electricity in New York and Connecticut. The Category 1 hurricane made landfall August 27.