Northeastern United States, including New York, placed on alert for approaching Tropical Storm Henri

Part of the northeastern United States has been placed on alert for the approach of Tropical Storm Henry, which may become the first hurricane in thirty years to hit the New England coast. Further south, New York City is also threatened.

Henri is accompanied by the risk of flooding and strong winds, which could cause serious material damage, especially to roofs of houses, roads, and cause blackouts of electricity and telecommunications throughout the affected area, announced , Friday, August 20, US Weather Services.

“Henri should turn into a hurricane tonight [vendredi] or Saturday and be as strong as or near a hurricane when it makes landfall on Long Island or southern New England on Sunday ”, let know, in a bulletin Friday at 5 p.m., the National Hurricane Monitoring Center (NHC). But the weather services warned of potential impacts as early as Saturday.

“The last hurricane to make landfall in New England dates back to Bob, in 1991”, recalled a spokesperson for the US Agency for the Study of the Ocean and Atmosphere. He had killed at least seventeen all over the east coast.

Risk of power outages in Massachusetts

Faced with the threat, several governors called on the population to be cautious. In Massachusetts, the state where the city of Boston is located, Governor Charlie Baker asked “Everyone to avoid unnecessary travel”, especially in coastal areas.

In this state, where all beaches and parks will be closed between Saturday and Monday, the storm could cause power cuts for 100,000 to 300,000 residents, say the governor’s services.

The hurricane alert is also valid in parts of Long Island, New York, and Connecticut and Rhode Island, the National Weather Service said on Twitter on Friday. , warning against the risks of “Dangerous waves and currents”.

Part of the coast located in New York is affected by the alert for this tropical storm. “This is the first time in nearly ten years that a hurricane alert has been issued for certain parts of our region”, assured the weather services of the city of New York, specifying that the last time, it was Hurricane Irene, at the end of August 2011. A year later, Hurricane Sandy had left a memory even more painful in the American cultural and economic capital, killing 44 people.

The weather services warn that the strong winds could cause numerous material damages, in particular on roofs of houses, on roads, and cause cuts of electricity and telecommunications in all the affected area.

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