State of emergency declared as Hurricane Henri lashes US east coast
- Henri strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane on Saturday and is on course to pound the coast of New York and New England
- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency and urged residents on Fire Island, New York state, to evacuate
A swathe of the US East Coast, including New York City, was under alert over the weekend as storm Henri was upgraded to what could be the first hurricane in 30 years to hit New England.
Forecasters warned of violent winds, heavy rainfall, the risk of flash floods and surging seas as the storm churned in the Atlantic, packing maximum sustained winds near 120 kilometres per hour (75mph).
Nasty weather that preceded Henri forced New York City to halt its star-studded Central Park concert that was billed as a “homecoming” for a metropolis hard hit by the pandemic.
The approaching hurricane had prompted New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to announce a state of emergency and the deployment of 500 National Guard soldiers in anticipation of response efforts.
“It’s as serious as a heart attack,” he warned.