A few days after Hurricane Irene battered the Eastern seaboard with flooding rains and gale force winds, state and commonwealth animal health authorities are working to evaluate the damage left behind and evaluate the impact on local horses. Fortunately, there have not yet been any reports of equine fatalities.

As previously reported, officials from Vermont, Delaware, and New Jersey reported that while the extent of the damage sustained by their state is still under investigation, no equine injuries or fatalities had been reported. Additionally, South Carolina officials reported that only minor damage was reported to areas on the Atlantic Coast and there were no reports of any equine-related damage.

New reports suggest that several other states on the East Coast fared similarly:

Virginia: "Virginia is fortunate to be able to report that we did not suffer any significant losses of horses or any other livestock due to Hurricane Irene; to date we have not had any reports of livestock mortality as a result of the storm," said Daniel A. Kovich, DVM, MPH, program manager at the commonwealth’s Office of Animal Care and Health Policy