New York braces for Hurricane Henri

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Saturday declared a state of emergency as Hurricane Henri threatened to hit the city with its full force on Sunday.

Cuomo warned that heavy rain, wind and storm surges could hit the city and pleaded with residents to "stock up." He also said that if they wanted to "get to higher ground," they should do so on Saturday.

Where will the hurricane hit?

Weather experts expect Hurricane Henri to collide into a large stretch of the East Coast from Connecticut to Cape Cod.

The cyclone, which is currently recording wind speeds of up to 75 miles per hour (120 kilometers an hour), could hit hardest in New York's Long Island.

If forecasts are correct, it would be the first large storm to hit Long Island since Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

Sandy caused $70 billion (€59.8 billion) in damage to the US, mainly from flooding, when it hit the US East Coast and at its peak left 7.5 million people without power.

Many of the repairs to prevent further storm damage on Long Island have not yet been completed,leaving the area prone to more chaos.

How are people preparing?

Jay Schneiderman, town supervisor of the Long Island town of Southampton, said people were starting to go out to buy batteries and flashlights.

"Right now it seems like a sunny summer day, but, you know, by this time tomorrow we're going to be in the middle of potentially a severe hurricane," he warned.

Meteorologists are predicting a storm surge of three to five feet (1 to 1.5 meters), forcing the closures of marinas and recommending evacuations of low-lying areas like Fire Island.

Weather experts predict that three to six inches (7.5 to 15 centimeters) of rain will fall from Sunday to Monday.

"We have short notice. We're talking about tomorrow," Cuomo said as he prepared to leave office in two days following a sexual harassment scandal.

"If you have to move, if you have to stock up, if you have to get to higher ground, it has to be today," he said.

jc/sri (Reuters, AFP, AP)