Hurricane Henri en route to New York, state of emergency declared

Henry can take strong winds and life-threatening storm surges with him. In Suffolk County, where most of the disturbance is expected, waves can be five feet higher than normal and rain can fall up to 10 inches.

More than 42 million inhabitants must take the problems into account. In many places, measures are being taken against the storm. For example, a state of emergency has been declared in various parts of New York State, including New York City itself.

Weeks without electricity

It’s not often that a hurricane travels this far north in the United States. The last time was in 1985. Then the Long Island power grid was destroyed, and it took weeks to get the power back in order. If the storm is just as severe this time around, it could take at least a week before the power grid is back in order, warns the local grid operator.

Henri is not the only hurricane currently crossing the Atlantic. Hurricane Grace killed several people in Mexico. The hurricane hit the state of Veracruz with winds of around 150 kilometers per hour and peaks reaching 200 kilometers per hour.

The storm caused heavy rains and flooding. Grace has already caused storms in Haiti and Jamaica, hit by the earthquake.