Tropical Storm Isaias moved up the American Atlantic coast on Tuesday, causing power cuts to hundreds of thousands of people and forcing New York authorities to take precautions against possible flooding.
• Read also: Heavy rains expected in Quebec
At 11 a.m. local time, Isaias was in the eastern state of Maryland, with winds of up to 110 km / h, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC). The depression was moving quickly.
“Life-threatening urban flooding” can occur in the capital Washington or Baltimore, the agency also warned.
The governor of North Carolina, where the Category 1 hurricane made landfall around 11:00 p.m. Monday evening (03:00 GMT Tuesday) with winds of up to 140 km / h, lamented the death of “at least one person” .
About three hours after touching the coast, the hurricane was downgraded to a tropical storm. Isaias should gradually lose intensity from Tuesday evening, as she approaches Canada, said the NHC.
“There have been a lot of trees that have fallen, flooding due to the rising sea, especially in southeastern North Carolina, cars that float” in places, detailed Roy Cooper Tuesday morning on ABC . “We have had a number of tornadoes. ”
But “overall (…), the damage was not at all as serious as it could have been”, he reassured.
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“Torrential” rains in New York
Nearly 370,000 people were without power by 8 a.m. Tuesday morning in North Carolina, according to the state’s emergency management agency.
More than 300,000 people were also affected by outages in the state of Virginia, according to poweroutage.us.
The meteorological services have issued a tornado vigilance advisory for southern Pennsylvania – including the city of Philadelphia -, New Jersey, southeastern New York State including New York City, and southern Connecticut, until 4:00 p.m. local Tuesday.
“The risk of tornadoes will advance north along the Atlantic coast” on Tuesday morning, the NHC warned.
Very strong winds and “torrential” rains that can cause flooding are also expected in New York, the city’s emergency management agency warned. Authorities have installed protective dikes in the lower Manhattan neighborhood in anticipation of a possible rise in water levels.
The governor of New York called on residents to “avoid all non-essential travel.” Ferry services have been suspended.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has declared a state of emergency in his state. “We call on all residents not to take the road and to stay at home,” he called Tuesday morning at a press conference.
– Masks despite the storm -The inhabitants of the states of the southeast coast of the United States are accustomed, almost every summer, to the passage of storms. This year, however, preparations for the arrival of Isaias were complicated by the imperatives of the coronavirus.
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The governor of North Carolina, one of the states facing a resurgence of the epidemic, had recommended that residents remember to wear a mask, carry disinfectant and maintain physical distancing despite the storm.
He explained Tuesday morning that a larger number of shelters had to be planned in order to allow social distancing inside them.
Isaias first threatened Florida, one of the epicenters of the coronavirus epidemic in the United States, on Sunday. Covid-19 testing centers, many of which are housed in tents, had to be closed there.
The authorities feared the devastating effect of the cumulative effect of this health crisis with the onset of the depression, but the “Sunshine State” was ultimately spared.
Faced with the threat, President Donald Trump announced that he had declared a state of emergency for Florida and the two Carolines in order to free up federal funds.
Isaias was killed last week in the United States of Puerto Rico, a 56-year-old woman whose vehicle was washed away.
The depression has also wreaked measured havoc in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas.
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