Coastal evacuations urged as Hurricane Henri heads north

By PHILIP MARCELO and PAT EATON-ROBB

Preparations for a tempest grew much urgent Saturday arsenic the recently upgraded Hurricane Henri closed successful connected the Northeast.

The storm’s latest way enactment it people to collide Sunday with a agelong long of coastline, with hurricane warnings extending from adjacent the aged whaling larboard of New Bedford, Massachusetts, crossed the luxurious oceanfront estates of New York’s Hamptons, to the summertime getaway of Fire Island.

Intense winds and perchance unsafe tidal surges were expected arsenic acold eastbound arsenic Cape Cod and arsenic acold westbound arsenic the New Jersey shore, and utilities warned ensuing powerfulness outages could past a week oregon adjacent more.

Henri was veering a spot further westbound than primitively expected, and if that way holds, it would person eastbound Long Island successful its bull’s-eye alternatively than New England, which hasn’t taken a nonstop deed from a hurricane since the deadly Hurricane Bob successful 1991.

New York hasn’t had a nonstop deed from a almighty cyclone since Superstorm Sandy wreaked havoc successful 2012. Some of the astir important repairs from that tempest person been completed, but galore projects designed to support against aboriginal storms stay unfinished.

Residents and visitors connected Fire Island, a constrictive portion of sandy villages hardly supra oversea level disconnected Long Island’s confederate coast, were urged to evacuate. The past boats retired volition permission astatine 10:40 p.m. Saturday; aft that, officials said, determination whitethorn beryllium nary mode retired for radical who determine to thrust retired the storm.

“If they bash not permission the land today, they volition beryllium stuck connected the land and we bash not cognize what benignant of conditions they whitethorn beryllium facing. But they could beryllium difficult. They could beryllium dangerous,” said Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone.

With a apical upwind velocity of 75 mph (120 kph) Saturday, Henri sped up to determination north-northeast astatine 17 mph (27 kph) arsenic of Saturday afternoon. It’s inactive astir 395 miles (635 kilometers) southbound of Montauk Point connected New York’s Long Island.

Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said the municipality was considering issuing a voluntary evacuation advisory for astir 6,000 people. He said existent tempest models amusement that the storm’s halfway would tally “smack connected the municipality of Southampton.” He described a tally connected supplies similar batteries and flashlights arsenic radical “are starting to aftermath up.”

“Right present it seems similar a sunny summertime day, but, you know, by this clip time we’re going to beryllium successful the mediate of perchance a terrible hurricane,” helium said.

Regardless of its nonstop landfall, wide impacts were expected crossed a ample swath of the Northeast, extending inland to Hartford, Connecticut, and Albany, New York, and eastward to Cape Cod, which is teeming with tens of thousands of summertime tourists.

Storm surge betwixt 3 and 5 feet (1 to 1.5 meters) is imaginable from Flushing, New York, to Chatham, Massachusetts, and for parts of the North Shore and South Shore of Long Island, the hurricane halfway said.

Rainfall betwixt 3 to 6 inches (7.5 to 15 centimeters) is expected Sunday done Monday.

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

Gov. Ned Lamont warned Connecticut residents they should hole to “shelter successful place” from Sunday day done astatine slightest Monday greeting arsenic the authorities braces for the archetypal imaginable nonstop deed from a hurricane successful decades.

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 the mansion-lined Dune Road into lagoons.

“We person a batch of affluent people. There’s nary uncertainty that we do, but everybody pulls unneurotic successful an emergency,” Schneiderman said. “So, you know, yeah, determination are radical hanging retired connected their yachts astatine the infinitesimal drinking martinis, but they’re besides starting to speech astir this tempest and I’m definite they’re going to privation to beryllium helpful.”

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Marcelo reported from Plymouth, Massachusetts, and Eaton-Robb reported from Columbia, Connecticut. Associated Press writers Larry Neumeister, Michael R. Sisak and Bobby Caina Calvan successful New York, and William J. Kole successful Warwick, Rhode Island, contributed to this report.