(CNN) -- Despite sunny skies, flood warnings remained in effect Wednesday for areas of several states hard-hit by Hurricane Irene, as authorities struggled to clean up and rebuild roads and bridges in the aftermath of the storm.
"Nobody that got hit with this flooding dodged a bullet," Craig Fugate, Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator, said Wednesday. "Loss of life, extensive damages, homes flooded ... it may not have been as big a deal on the coast, but these flood areas definitely got hit hard."
Irene killed 43 people from Florida to New England as it marched up the Eastern Seaboard over the weekend, dumping torrential rains. Some of the worst flooding struck Vermont, New Jersey and upstate New York.
The Passaic River in northern New Jersey seemed to mock the town of Little Falls as the water surging through it looked more like Niagara Falls.
"Before Irene hit, the Passaic River was already running high from frequent precipitation this summer," Wheeler Antabanez of neighboring Montclair said. "When the hurricane blew through and dumped all that water on north Jersey, the river began to rage."
About 1,700 residents were evacuated from their homes in Wayne, Totowa, Little Falls, Paterson and Woodland Park, said Edward O'Connell, a spokesman for Passaic County's Office of Emergency Management.
Rescues were still taking place Wednesday, said Paterson Mayor Jeffery Jones. "All it takes is someone to call and say they're under distress, and we and our boats are going out and taking people to safety," he said. City officials were opening schools and other facilities to serve as shelters, he said.
Rescuers pulled families and pets alike from their homes Tuesday, using rafts to transport them down the county's flooded roads.
"It's been pretty much 24 hours a day," said Sgt. Alex Popov of the Paterson Police Department.
Once floodwaters begin to recede, the next step will include going house to house and checking furnaces, hot water heaters and other appliances to reduce the risk of possible explosions when they are restarted, Jones said.
Asked about those who did not heed an evacuation warning, Jones said, "I don't think folks were aware -- nor were we aware -- that it could get this extreme."
Flood warnings remained in effect for portions of New Jersey on Wednesday, along with parts of North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Also Wednesday, President Barack Obama signed disaster declarations for North Carolina and New York.
"I think the conversation of hype is being hyped," Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy said Wednesday on the debate over whether Irene was over hyped. "The reality is, the people of Connecticut are hurting ... although it's sunny outside, we're still experiencing the effects."
He said homes and infrastructure have been destroyed and the Connecticut River basin has experienced heavy flooding. Much of the damage is seen in the state's rural areas, he said -- "we have farms that are underwater."
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Fugate will travel to New Jersey and New York Wednesday to check on local recovery and response efforts.
Fugate's visit, however, comes amid concerns over FEMA funding. The agency's disaster relief fund has less than $800 million remaining and could run out before the end of the current fiscal year on September 30. With conservative House Republicans, lead by Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Virginia, calling for spending cuts to offset any increase in emergency funds -- a measure opposed by many Democrats -- the ability of Congress to act quickly on the issue remains uncertain.
"Right now, we're continuing our obligations to respond" with rescue operations and meeting the immediate needs of storm survivors, Fugate said Wednesday. The only thing the agency has done, he said, is state that it won't be able to fund permanent work from disasters that has not yet been started. "We are postponing the permanent work," he said.
But search and rescue teams are on the ground, he said, and food and water was being handed out to those in need. "This is a team effort," he said. "... Americans help Americans in disasters. We're doing our job. We're working hard."
Jones said he was "outraged" about the funding dispute. "Mother Nature has a mind of her own, a will of her own, and we can't have the petty wrangling going on when we have folks in dire need," he said.
On Tuesday, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie surveyed some of the damage and told reporters he had seen "extraordinary despair."
More than 1,300 people throughout the state are in shelters, he said, though that number is likely to rise as additional areas are evacuated.
An estimated 2.85 million customers remained without power as of Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Energy said. That included more than half a million each in Connecticut and New York, more than 400,000 in Virginia, more than 300,000 in New Jersey and more than 250,000 in Maryland.
Nearly 6.7 million customers initially were left without power by the storm, the department said.
The full extent of Irene's destruction won't be known for some time. The federal government estimates that the cost from wind damage alone will exceed $1 billion. Analysts have put the total expected cost of Irene much higher.
Several Vermont towns remained inaccessible by roads early Wednesday, despite progress by state road crews struggling to patch dozens of washed-out bridges and highway segments.
"Our top priority continues to be establishing emergency access to the isolated communities, while simultaneously developing plans for temporary and permanent repairs throughout the system," said Brian Searles, Vermont's transportation chief.
In Grafton, Vermont, 800 residents were stranded. "It's one massive mess," said Tara Taylor, who fled Grafton for nearby Rockingham along with her family. "There's no words to describe this."
While part of Grafton has electricity, much of the town is running on generators, she said. But as far as she knew, people were well, and no one had been hurt, Taylor said.
"We've been very lucky with this," she said
Many Vermonters, however, were left reeling -- even in the northern portions, where the flooding was less severe.
"The mood among Vermonters is one of disbelief, sadness," said Chris Brosky, "but a motivation to rebuild and carry on."
On Friday, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul made headlines after saying Americans are capable of recovering from natural disasters without FEMA, suggesting it was a useless entity.
Asked about Paul's comments Wednesday, Malloy said, "This is a ridiculous conversation. I really don't understand what he's talking about, and I'm not sure he does."
CNN's Ed Payne and CNN iReport's Germain Perez and Katie Hawkins-Gaar contributed to this report.
