Tropical Storm Henri brings heavy rains, power outages to Northeast

Aug. 23 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden has approved declarations for emergency in four states in the Northeast due to the impact of Tropical Storm Henri and more than 70,000 customers were without power early Monday.

Henri, which was still a hurricane shortly before it made landfall in New England on Sunday, has since been downgraded to a tropical depression as it moved over land.

Heavy rains were reported across several states including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Vermont and Rhode Island. Biden has so far approved federal emergency declarations for all those states but New Jersey, as well as the Wampanoag Tribe in Massachusetts.

"We are taking it seriously, though, because of the size and the storm's surge and the rainfall it's producing," Biden said in a statement after the storm arrived Sunday.

"While New Englanders are used to dealing with some tough weather, this storm has the potential for widespread consequences across the region, with significant flooding and power outages that could affect hundreds of thousands of people."

Connecticut braced for more rain Monday after the storm produced flash floods and winds strong enough to topple trees onto cars, homes and power lines. The flooding prompted water rescues in several locations.

"Now today, it's going to be heading back east," Gary Lessor, chief meteorologist with Western Connecticut State University's weather center, told the Hartford Courant. "So the energy from it is going to move on through."

In Rhode Island, turnpike and bridge officials closed off the Newport Pell, Jamestown Verrazzano and Mount Hope bridges due to high winds. Storm surge as high as 2 feet was recorded at the height of the storm on Sunday.

Tens of thousands in the Northeast are still dealing with widespread power outages.

According to PowerOutage.us on Monday, more than 42,000 customers in Rhode Island were without electricity, as well as 12,000 in Connecticut, 6,500 in New Jersey and 6,000 in New York.

Some locations in northern New Jersey received nearly 10 inches of rain. Almost 9 inches fell in Cranbury and about 8 inches were recorded in Jamesburg, Ringwood and East Windsor.

New York City, which was spared a direct hit, saw more than 6 inches.