New England preps for 1st hurricane in 30 years with Henri

MIAMI – New Englanders bracing for their archetypal hurricane successful 30 years began hauling boats retired of the h2o and taking different precautions Friday arsenic Tropical Storm Henri barreled toward the Northeast coast.

Henri was expected to intensify into a hurricane by Saturday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Impacts could beryllium felt successful New England states by Sunday, including connected Cape Cod, which is teeming with tens of thousands of summertime tourists.

Henri's way was imprecise, but arsenic of 5 p.m. EDT Friday, the National Weather Service suggested it mightiness marque landfall archetypal successful eastbound Long Island earlier careening further north. The White House said President Joe Biden was briefed connected the storm’s track.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker connected Friday urged radical vacationing connected the Cape to permission good earlier Henri hits, and those who planned to commencement vacations determination to hold their plans. “We don't privation radical to beryllium stuck successful postulation connected the Cape Cod bridges erstwhile the tempest is successful afloat unit connected Sunday,” helium said.

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Baker said up to 1,000 National Guard troops were connected standby to assistance with evacuations if needed.

“This tempest is highly worrisome,” said Michael Finkelstein, constabulary main and exigency absorption manager successful East Lyme, Connecticut. “We haven’t been down this roadworthy successful rather a portion and there’s nary uncertainty that we and the remainder of New England would person immoderate existent difficulties with a nonstop deed from a hurricane.”

Finkelstein said he’s astir acrophobic astir low-lying areas of municipality that could go intolerable to entree due to the fact that of flooding and a tempest surge.

Thursday marked exactly 30 years since Hurricane Bob came ashore successful Rhode Island arsenic a Category 2 storm, sidesplitting astatine slightest 17 radical and leaving down much than $1.5 cardinal worthy of damage. Bob, which near streets successful coastal towns littered with boats blown escaped of their moorings, knocked retired powerfulness and h2o to hundreds of thousands for days.

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Large swaths of the Eastern seaboard were mopping up connected Friday from the effects of Henri's predecessor, Tropical Depression Fred. In North Carolina, Haywood County Sheriff Greg Christopher said 4 radical died and 5 individuals remained unaccounted for, down from astir 20 radical reported missing connected Thursday.

The upwind work warned of the imaginable for damaging winds and wide coastal flooding from Henri, and officials successful Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York cautioned that radical could suffer powerfulness for a week oregon adjacent longer. Authorities urged radical to unafraid their boats, substance up their vehicles and banal up connected canned goods.

The strategy was centered successful the Atlantic Ocean precocious Friday astir 230 miles (370 kilometers) south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and astir 615 miles (990 kilometers) southbound of Montauk Point, New York. It had maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 kph).

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A hurricane informing stretched crossed the South Shore of Long Island from Fire Island Inlet to Montauk, and the North Shore from Port Jefferson Harbor to Montauk.

The main threats were expected to beryllium tempest surge, upwind and rain, forecasters said. Storm surge betwixt 3 and 5 feet (1 to 1.5 meters) was imaginable from Flushing, New York, to Chatham, Massachusetts; and parts of the North Shore and South Shore of Long Island.

Rainfall betwixt 3 to 6 inches (7.5 to 15 centimeters) was expected Sunday done Monday implicit the region.

Henri was heading northbound Friday night, and forecasters expected it to attack the coastlines of New York's Long Island oregon confederate New England by Sunday. New York hasn’t had a nonstop deed from a large hurricane play tempest since Superstorm Sandy wreaked havoc successful 2012.

At Safe Harbor Marina successful coastal Plymouth, Massachusetts, Steve Berlo was among the galore boaters having their vessels pulled retired of the h2o up of the storm.

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“It’s rare, but erstwhile it happens, you privation to beryllium definite you’re ready,” said Berlo, 54. “Got to support our 2nd home. So that’s that. Now I tin slumber tonight.”

In the Hamptons, the personage playground connected Long Island’s eastbound end, officials warned of unsafe rip currents and flooding that’s apt to crook streets, similar mansion-lined Dune Road connected the Atlantic coast, into lagoons.

Ryan Murphy, the exigency absorption head for the Town of Southampton, said that portion the storm’s way continues to evolve, “we person to program arsenic if it’s going to beryllium similar a Category 1 hurricane that would beryllium hitting us.”

The National Weather Service besides warned residents and beachgoers connected the North Carolina seashore of rip currents and unsmooth surf associated with Henri. Meteorologist Steven Pfaff of the upwind service’s Wilmington bureau said swells from Henri were expected to make hazardous surf conditions opening Friday and continuing connected Saturday.

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At the U.S. Navy’s submarine basal successful Groton, Connecticut, unit connected Friday were securing submarine moorings, installing flood gates successful beforehand of doors connected immoderate waterfront buildings, and doubling up lines connected tiny boats, officials said. Families were being encouraged to ticker the forecast and marque immoderate indispensable preparations.

The Coast Guard urged boaters to enactment disconnected the water, saying successful a statement: “The Coast Guard’s hunt and rescue capabilities degrade arsenic tempest conditions strengthen. This means assistance could beryllium delayed.”

At the Port Niantic marina successful Niantic, Connecticut, Debbie Shelburn and her employees were already engaged Friday hauling boats retired of the h2o and into a ample retention building.

“Basically, it’s go each hands connected deck. No substance your presumption — mechanic, immoderate — everybody is retired determination helping with the logistics of moving the boats and getting them unafraid connected land,” she said.

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Eaton-Robb reported from Columbia, Connecticut. Associated Press writers Michael R. Sisak successful New York, Skip Foreman successful Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and William J. Kole successful Warwick, Rhode Island, contributed to this report.

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