Moving inland, storm Henri drenches Northeast US

By DAVID KLEPPER, MICHAEL KUNZELMAN and DAVID PORTER

WESTERLY, R.I. (AP) — Storm Henri crawled implicit the Northeast connected Sunday night, continuing to unleash downpours implicit a portion already saturated by dense rainfall that swamped roads, closed bridges and near radical stranded successful their vehicles, and winds that knocked retired powerfulness to implicit 130,000 homes.

Henri made landfall Sunday connected the seashore of Rhode Island, and the National Hurricane Center warned that the slow-moving tempest would proceed dumping dense rains connected wide swaths of the region.

It was downgraded from a hurricane earlier reaching New England, leaving galore to respire a suspiration of relief. There were fewer aboriginal reports of large harm owed to upwind oregon surf.

The tempest was aboriginal downgraded to a tropical depression, but its heavy, sustained rains raised concerns astir further flooding from the tempest that threatened to stall implicit the portion earlier pivoting to the East and moving retired to the Atlantic Ocean connected Monday night. Some of the highest rainfall totals were expected inland.

In Boston, officials were watching for a imaginable oversea surge arsenic precocious tide approached precocious Sunday night. A coastal flood informing was successful effect into the aboriginal hours of Monday.

Businesses on the tourist-heavy Long Wharf were boarded up and a waterfront subway presumption was shuttered and its flood barriers raised up of the storm.

President Joe Biden connected Sunday promised to supply national assistance arsenic rapidly arsenic imaginable to the residents of northeastern states affected by Henri. The president declared disasters successful overmuch of the region, opening the purse strings for national betterment aid.

“We’re doing everything we tin present to assistance those states prepare, respond and recover,” the president said.

Biden earlier had offered his condolences to the radical of Tennessee, aft terrible flooding from an unrelated tempest killed astatine slightest 22, including young children and aged people, and near dozens of others missing.

By Sunday evening, Henri had sustained winds of astir 35 mph (56 kph) arsenic it moved crossed Connecticut and into Massachusetts, according to the National Hurricane Center. When it made landfall adjacent Westerly, Rhode Island, it had sustained winds of astir 60 mph and gusts of up to 70 mph.

As New England communities braced for dense rains, others further southbound awaited sunrise to survey the harm wrought by the storm.

In Helmetta, New Jersey, immoderate 200 residents fled for higher ground, taking refuge successful hotels oregon with friends and family, arsenic flood waters inundated their homes.

“It came truthful speedy — successful the blink of an eye,” said the town’s mayor, Christopher Slavicek, whose parents were spending the nighttime aft fleeing their home.

“Now there’s cleanable up. So this is acold from over,” the politician said.

Some communities successful cardinal New Jersey were inundated with arsenic overmuch arsenic 8 inches (20 centimeters) of rainfall by midday Sunday. In Jamesburg, tv video footage showed flooded downtown streets and cars astir wholly submerged.

In Newark, Public Safety Director Brian O’Hara said constabulary and firefighters rescued 86 radical successful 11 incidents related to the storm. He said “significant flooding” led to aggregate vehicles submerged successful flooded areas.

“This could person been a batch worse, peculiarly arsenic it relates to wind,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Sunday evening.

Likewise, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said Henri was adjacent to being successful the “rear presumption mirror,” but said there’s inactive much enactment to do, adjacent arsenic mandatory evacuations were being lifted successful immoderate communities. About 250 residents from 4 nursing homes connected the shoreline had to beryllium relocated to different nursing homes.

The forecast had immoderate fearing the worst effects of the rainfall were inactive to travel successful a portion wherever the crushed successful galore areas is saturated from caller rains.

Several large bridges successful Rhode Island, which stitch unneurotic overmuch of the state, were concisely shuttered Sunday, and immoderate coastal roads were astir impassable.

In Newport, Paul and Cherie Saunders rode retired the tempest successful a location that her household has owned since the precocious 1950s. Their basement flooded with 5 feet of h2o during Superstorm Sandy 9 years ago.

“This location has been done truthful galore hurricanes and truthful galore things person happened,” said Cherie Saunders, 68. “We’re conscionable going to hold and spot what happens.”

Rhode Island has been deed by hurricanes and tropical storms periodically — including Superstorm Sandy successful 2012, Irene successful 2011 and Hurricane Bob successful 1991. The metropolis of Providence sustained truthful overmuch flooding harm from a hurricane successful 1938 and Hurricane Carol successful 1954 that it built a hurricane obstruction successful the 1960s to support its downtown from a tempest surge coming up Narragansett Bay. That obstruction — and newer gates built adjacent — were closed for hours Sunday earlier reopening.

The National Weather Service recorded what could beryllium the wettest hr ever successful Central Park, with 1.94 inches of torrential rainfall pelting the parkland betwixt 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. Saturday. Earlier successful the evening, thousands attending a Homecoming performance astatine the parkland were forced to disperse due to the fact that of dense rainfall.

Marshall Shepherd, manager of the atmospheric sciences programme astatine the University of Georgia and erstwhile president of the American Meteorological Society, said Henri was reminiscent successful immoderate ways of Hurricane Harvey, a slow-moving tempest that decimated the Houston country successful 2017.

“To the westbound broadside of the storm, you person a banding diagnostic that has virtually been stationary — sitting determination and dumping rain. That volition beryllium a important hazard for the New York and New Jersey area,” Shepherd said.

After Tropical Storm Irene roared up the seashore successful August 2011, galore were relieved erstwhile the New York City country mostly was spared. But past the tempest settled implicit the Green Mountains, and Irene became the biggest earthy catastrophe to deed Vermont since an epic 1927 flood. Parts of the authorities got 11 inches of rainfall successful conscionable 24 hours. Irene killed six successful Vermont, near thousands homeless, and damaged oregon destroyed much than 200 bridges and 500 miles of highway.

“I retrieve Irene and media outlets extracurricular Vermont brushing it speech arsenic if nary large woody portion it deed Vermont,” Robert Welch, a podcaster, tweeted Sunday. “I’ll unbend erstwhile I spot it astatine oversea connected radar.”

In 1 of his last appearances arsenic politician earlier helium is acceptable to measurement down astatine the extremity of Monday implicit a intersexual harassment scandal, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that with the menace to Long Island diminishing, the state’s superior interest were inland areas similar the Hudson River Valley, northbound of New York City, which was projected to get inches of rainfall implicit the adjacent fewer days.

“In the Hudson Valley you person hills, you person creeks, the h2o comes moving down those hills and turns a creek into a ravaging river,” Cuomo said.

Major airports successful the portion remained unfastened arsenic the tempest approached, though hundreds of Sunday’s flights were canceled. Service connected immoderate branches of New York City’s commuter obstruction strategy was suspended done Sunday, arsenic was Amtrak work betwixt New York and Boston.

Power outages affected powerfulness to much than 130,000 homes crossed Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York.

Connecticut’s largest electrical inferior said it had restored 20,000 customers but thousands similar Linda Oski, who lives successful Canterbury, remained without power.

“I haven’t seen immoderate trucks astatine each successful my vicinity but the other extremity of my roadworthy had their powerfulness restored earlier 6 p.m. So adjacent and yet truthful far!” she said. “It’s expected to get nasty blistery and humid again connected Tuesday truthful if we inactive person nary powerfulness by then, that volition beryllium miserable.”

___

Kunzelman reported from Newport, Rhode Island. Porter reported from New York. Associated Press writers William J. Kole successful Warwick, Rhode Island, Michelle Smith successful Providence, Rhode Island, Michael R. Sisak and Julie Walker from East Hampton, Will Lester successful Washington, Philip Marcelo successful Boston, Michael Melia successful Hartford, Connecticut, Susan Haigh successful Norwich, Connecticut, and Bobby Caina Calvan successful New York contributed to this report.