Desk Report
Published: 22 Aug 2021, 08:29 pm
Tropical Storm Henri (Photo: Collected)
Tropical Storm Henri
was on course to make landfall on the US east coast Sunday, with millions in
New England and New York's Long Island preparing for flash flooding, violent
winds and power outages.
The US National
Hurricane Center said in its 7:00 am (1200 GMT) advisory that Henri 50 miles
(80 kilometers) southeast of Montauk Point in New York state.
Forecasters downgraded
Henri from a hurricane but warned heavy rainfall and the risk of surging seas
as the storm churned in the Atlantic, packing maximum sustained winds of 70
miles per hour.
As the surface layer
of oceans warms due to climate change, cyclones are becoming more powerful and
carry more water, posing an increasing threat to the world's coastal
communities, scientists say. Storm surges amplified by rising seas can be
especially devastating.
A swath of the
northeastern coastline, including New York City, was under alert as the storm
approached. If Henri is upgraded again then it would be the first hurricane to
hit New England in 30 years.
Nasty weather that
preceded Henri late Saturday 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
then-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 (1600 GMT) on Sunday.
"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 several miles, but still caused tropical storm
conditions that began Saturday night.
The National Weather
Service said 1.94 inches of rain fell in the park between 10 and 11 pm
Saturday, the wettest hour on record in New York City.
In the park 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.
- 'Dangerous' -
The NHC warned of
"a dangerous storm surge, hurricane conditions and flooding" in areas
of southern New England and Long Island.
Henri is expected to
produce three to six inches of rain (7.5 to 15
centimeters) across
the region, with isolated maximum totals near 10 inches, the NHC warned.
The heavy rainfall
"may result in considerable flash, urban, and small stream flooding"
as well as river flooding, it added, saying storm surges of 5 feet were
possible in coastal areas.
High winds are
expected to knock out electricity for hundreds of thousands of people across
the region and delay countless flights.
Officials in New
England -- which includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire,
Rhode Island and Vermont -- have warned people to get ready.
"The last
hurricane to make landfall onto New England was Hurricane Bob in 1991,"
Dennis Feltgen, an NHC spokesman, told AFP. That storm killed at least 17
people.
It has been almost a
decade since such severe weather threatened the region.
"The last time we
had hurricane watches issued for the area was for Hurricane Irene, back in late
August of 2011," tweeted the National Weather Service in New York City.
The last hurricane to
make landfall in Long Island was Gloria in 1985.
The warnings have
reignited memories of Hurricane Sandy, a more powerful
storm that knocked out
power for much of Manhattan and flooded subways in 2012.
The US PGA Tour
postponed the final round of the Northern Trust tournament in suburban New York
to Monday because of Henri.