Hurricane Henri bearing down on east coast of United States
Print Edition
Hurricane Henri was on course to make landfall on the US east coast yesterday, with millions in New England and New York’s Long Island preparing for flash flooding, violent winds and power outages.
A swath of the northeastern coastline, including New York City, was under alert late on Saturday as storm Henri was upgraded to what could be the first hurricane to hit New England in 30 years.
The US National Hurricane Center said in its 5am advisory that Henri was approaching eastern Long Island and southern New England, and 128 kilometers southeast of Montauk Point in New York state.
Forecasters warned of heavy rainfall and the risk of surging seas as the storm churned in the Atlantic, packing maximum sustained winds near 120 kilometers per hour.
Nasty weather that preceded Henri forced New York City to halt a star-studded Central Park concert billed as a “homecoming” for a metropolis hard hit by the pandemic.
The approaching hurricane had prompted New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to announce a state of emergency and the deployment of 500 National Guard soldiers in anticipation of response efforts.
“It’s as serious as a heart attack,” he warned.
He said the storm was expected to make landfall on Long Island, home to the plush Hamptons villages where wealthy New Yorkers retreat in summer, around noon yesterday.
“It will be about a 26-hour event,” Cuomo added, telling New Yorkers to expect “significant power outages” and “significant flooding” in some suburbs of the Big Apple.
Henri was anticipated to miss New York City by kilometers, but could still cause tropical storm conditions.
Some of that weather rolled in during the concert in Central Park, where an announcer cut off pop legend Barry Manilow mid-song to urge revelers to proceed swiftly but calmly to the nearest exit.
“I guess for safety it makes sense. I mean I can hear the thunder,” said attendee Maria Fuentes.
The NHC warned of “a dangerous storm surge, hurricane conditions and flooding” in areas of southern New England and Long Island.
The National Weather Service said late Saturday Henri was expected to remain a Category 1 hurricane at landfall.
Henri is expected to produce 7.5 to 15 centimeters of rain across the region, with isolated maximum totals near 25 centimeters, the NHC warned.
The heavy rainfall “may result in considerable flash, urban, and small stream flooding” as well as river flooding, it added.
Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent as temperatures rise.
Officials in New England — which includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont — have warned people to get ready.
“All residents are advised to begin storm preparations today, and to pay close attention to local weather,” the office of Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker said on Friday.
His state, which closes parks and beaches from Saturday to today, was bracing for the high winds to knock out electricity for up to 300,000 people, the governor’s office said.
If Henri maintains its course and strength, it would be the first hurricane to directly hit New England in 30 years.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
