:quality(75)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/elcomercio/WMY7O5CX6NCGNISHLS7TW57LUY.jpg "New England on high alert for its first hurricane in 30 years")
A strip of the east coast of USA, including New York, was under alert on Friday due to the proximity of Storm Henri, which is expected to become the first hurricane to hit the New England area in decades.
Forecasters warned of violent winds, the risk of flash flooding and storm surge, as the storm raged across the Atlantic and is expected to make landfall on Sunday.
“Strengthening is forecast over the next day and Henri is expected to become a hurricane tonight (Friday) or Saturday,” said the National Hurricane Center (NHC) of the United States in its last bulletin.
Officials from the region of New England, which includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont, warned locals to prepare.
“All residents are advised to begin storm preparations today and pay close attention to the local weather,” said Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker’s office.
His state, which will close parks and beaches from Saturday to Monday, was bracing for strong winds to cut off electricity for up to 300,000 residents, the governor’s office said.
NHC meteorologists indicated that Henri had sustained winds of nearly 110 kilometers per hour and threatened New York, as well as neighboring New England states, with about 10 inches of rain in some areas.
The storms “could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions,” the NHC bulletin noted.
And Henri strengthens as expected and remains on its current course, the storm would be the first hurricane to make landfall in New England in 30 years.
Hurricane Bob was the last to hit New England directly, in 1991.
“The last time hurricane warnings were issued for the area was for Hurricane Irene in late August 2011,” the New York City National Weather Service tweeted.