Ocean City almost back to normal

OCEAN CITY, Md. - Now that Hurricane Irene has passed, Ocean City officials have reopened the city to everyone.

Property owners, tenants, business owners and their employees were allowed into the city first, followed by the general public this afternoon.

The beach has been reopened but access to the surf has been restricted.

Tonight the sun set and it was gorgeous, what a difference 24 hours makes.

The plywood came off the windows and doors and businesses are opening back up, and Hurricane Irene is in the history books without much of a story in Maryland's resort town.

Business owners are breathing a bit easier as they reopen just in time for the Labor Day weekend.

While some stores lost thousands of dollars, the Mayor stands by his decision to evacuate the city saying, "if there were large numbers of people here, the police department would have been put in a bad position because they would have been babysitting the people out on the beach and street."

About 300 ignored the warning, but no 911 calls went unanswered.

Power outages are still a problem in the area with thousands of people still out.

Ocean City is getting back to normal after Hurricane Irene.