(New York) In certain neighborhoods of Brooklyn, motorists have had to abandon their vehicles in the middle of streets transformed into rivers.
–
–
–
In Central Park, in the heart of Manhattan, 4.92 cm of rain was measured between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m., the heaviest precipitation in an hour at this location since such data was collected.
It was Saturday evening, after the stop of the big concert in Central Park which was to celebrate the “return” of New York after more than a year of hardships linked to the coronavirus pandemic.
It did not bode well for a city where the consequences of the hurricane are still fresh in the memory Sandy, almost nine years ago: 43 dead, 17% of the territory flooded and more than 17,000 houses damaged.
But New York and Long Island avoided the worst on Sunday. Downgraded in the morning from hurricane to tropical storm, Henri made landfall at 12:15 p.m. near Westerly, southwestern Rhode Island, with heavy precipitation and winds of up to 95 km / h.
At least 135,000 people, from New Jersey to Maine, were without power due to the storm.
When Cuomo is ironic
In New York, Andrew Cuomo chose to celebrate the trajectory ofHenri, whose eye seemed to be heading to Long Island at the end of last week.
“Category 1 hurricane has been downgraded to tropical storm. It’s a good thing, ”the ousted governor first said at a virtual press conference. “The tropical storm Henri moved east, returning to France, ”he added, trying a joke probably inspired by the French name of the storm.
This is good news for the state, as when the storm heads east, it misses more of New York City.
–
Andrew Cuomo, deposed governor of New York State
–
It was one of Andrew Cuomo’s last public appearances as governor of New York, if not the last. Monday evening, he must officially resign in the wake of the publication of a report accusing him of sexually harassing 11 current and former employees of the state.
At his press conference, Governor Cuomo declared a state of emergency for New York City, which was to allow the state to access federal government resources to deal with the aftermath of the storm. He said the heavy rains could cause flooding in some areas, including Suffolk County, Long Island.
Biden to the rescue
In Washington, another politician battered these days laid out his plan to confront Henry.
Speaking to the American nation from the White House, Joe Biden said he approved the state of emergency declarations submitted by the governors of Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York. He had spoken to them the day before. At the request of the White House, Lieutenant Governor of New York Kathy Hochul, who is to be sworn in as governor Monday evening, participated in the teleconference.
PHOTO MANUEL BALCE CENETA, ASSOCIATED PRESS
President Joe Biden at a White House press conference on Sunday
–
“Although New Englanders are used to dealing with harsh weather conditions, this storm is likely to have widespread consequences throughout the region, with significant flooding and power outages that could affect people. hundreds of thousands of people, ”the president said.
We are doing all we can now to help these states prepare, respond and recover.
–
Joe Biden, President of the United States
–
He said teams from Canada were on their way to New England to help restore power to communities affected by blackouts. He then addressed the other storm of the day, namely the evacuation of American and Afghan civilians in Kabul.
Paralyzed transport
After making landfall in Rhode Island, the tropical storm Henri slowed down. According to the National Hurricane Monitoring Center, it could “stagnate near the border between the State of New York and Connecticut” overnight Sunday.
Earlier today, rains and high winds forced hundreds of flights to be canceled at airports serving New York. Trains to Long Island and southern New England had also been largely paralyzed. And many roads in the states of New York and New Jersey, among others, had been flooded.
After Sunday night, the storm is expected to head east, crossing Connecticut and southern Massachusetts on Monday, then southern Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine before returning to the Atlantic.
7 to 15 cm of precipitation is expected in New England, as well as parts of Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, during the day Monday. Some places could even see up to 30 cm of precipitation.
–
_1-1629467233.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)