Storm Henry, less severe than expected, left more than 110,000 people in the northeastern United States without power

More than 110,000 residents of the northeastern United States were deprived of power, on Sunday, August 22, as Storm Henry passed. In detail, more than 72,000 people in Rhode Island, 30,000 in Connecticut, and 10,000 in Massachusetts were without power, according to the site. poweroutage.us. As of Monday morning, that number had dropped to less than 70,000 (55,000 in Rhode Island and 14,000 in Connecticut).

The storm hit US coasts near Rhode Island at 12:15 pm (6:15 pm in Paris), according to the US National Weather Service. In a local bulletin at 5 pm, the US Hurricane Center announced that the storm was blowing winds of up to 65 km / h, down from 120 km / h the previous day at sea. Henry has been demoted. In the morning from a hurricane to a tropical storm by the NHC.

“It is important to monitor the situation and prepare in your home and neighborhood. Make sure you have supplies for your home, including necessary medicines, food, water, and battery powered radios in case of prolonged power outages.”President Biden warned at a press conference this afternoon.

The northeastern United States is usually relatively untouched by such storms, which mostly affect states further south, such as Florida or Louisiana. Scientists say that as the ocean surface warms, hurricanes become more powerful.

‘We had a hard escape’

While Rhode Island Governor Dan Mackie claimed that he was there ‘big flood’ In some areas, the first reactions of some residents seem to indicate that the passage of the storm was not as bad as expected.

‘We had a hard escape’James Kicker, a Newport resident, told AFP that he only saw “minor damage” In its area, with a few broken branches.

70 to 150 mm of rain was forecast across the region, and as much as 250 mm in some places, according to the NHC, while worsening weather conditions already pushed Saturday to a halt the big concert organized in Central Park for Mark. With them “Reunion” Artists with a New York audience. But in the afternoon, the NHC raised all of its alerts about coastal inundation.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency Saturday as the storm approached, adding that 500 National Guard troops were mobilized to support storm response efforts. The country’s cultural and economic capital is still in mind the painful memory ofHurricane Sandy, which killed 44 people in 2012.