As the surface layer of oceans warms due to climate change, cyclones become more powerful
New York:
Tropical Storm Henri was on course to make landfall on the US east coast on Sunday as millions in New England and New York’s Long Island prepared for flash flooding, gusty winds and blackouts.
The US National Hurricane Center said in its advisory of 7:00 a.m. (1200 GMT) that Henri was 50 miles southeast of Montauk Point in New York State.
Forecasters lowered Henri from a hurricane but warned heavy rains and the risk of rising seas as the storm churned into the Atlantic, with maximum sustained winds of 70 miles per hour.
As the surface layer of the oceans warms due to climate change, cyclones become more powerful and carry more water, posing an increasing threat to the world’s coastal communities, scientists say. Storm surges amplified by rising seas can be especially devastating.
A portion of the northeast shoreline, including New York City, was on alert as the storm approached. If Henri gets another upgrade, it would be the first hurricane to hit New England in 30 years.
Bad weather that preceded Henri late Saturday forced New York City to cancel a star-studded concert in Central Park, billed as a “homecoming” to a metropolis hard-hit by the pandemic.
The approaching hurricane had prompted New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to declare a state of emergency and deploy 500 National Guard soldiers pending response efforts.
“It’s as serious as a heart attack,” he warned.
He said the storm was expected to make landfall on Long Island, home to the plush Hamptons villages where wealthy New Yorkers retire in the summer, around noon (1600 GMT) on Sunday.
“It will take about 26 hours,” Cuomo added, telling New Yorkers to expect “significant power outages” and “significant flooding” in some suburbs of the Big Apple.
Henri was expected to miss New York City for several miles, but still triggered tropical storms that started Saturday night.
The National Weather Service said 1.94 inches of rain fell in the park between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. Saturday, the wettest hour on record in New York City.
In the park, an announcer interrupted pop legend Barry Manilow halfway through the song to urge revelers to move quickly but calmly to the nearest exit.
“I think it makes sense for safety. I mean, I can hear the thunder,” said contestant Maria Fuentes.
– ‘Dangerous’ –
The NHC warned of “a dangerous storm surge, hurricane conditions and flooding” in areas of southern New England and Long Island.
Henri is expected to produce three to six inches of rain (7.5 to 15 centimeters) across the region, with isolated maximum totals close to 10 inches, the NHC warned.
The heavy rainfall “could lead to significant flash flooding, urban and small streams”, as well as river flooding, it added that storm surges of 1.5 meters were possible in coastal areas.
High winds are expected to cut off electricity for hundreds of thousands of people in the region and delay numerous flights.
Officials in New England — including Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont — have warned people to prepare.
“The last hurricane to make landfall in New England was Hurricane Bob in 1991,” Dennis Feltgen, an NHC spokesman, told AFP. That storm killed at least 17 people.
It has been nearly ten years since such severe weather threatened the region.
“The last time we issued hurricane watches for the area was before Hurricane Irene, in late August 2011,” the National Weather Service in New York City tweeted.
The last hurricane to make landfall on Long Island was Gloria in 1985.
The warnings have revived memories of Hurricane Sandy, a more powerful storm that cut power to much of Manhattan in 2012 and flooded subways.
The US PGA Tour has postponed the final round of the Northern Trust tournament in the New York suburbs to Monday because of Henri.
(This story was not edited by NewsMadura staff and was generated automatically from a syndicated feed.)
