The U.S. East Coast braced to take a direct hit from Hurricane Henri as it threatened to pound the region with fierce winds and heavy rains that could cause “life-threatening” storm surge and flooding, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
As of Saturday afternoon, the storm was gathering strength, packing 75 mph (120 kph) winds while it moved north about 240 miles northeast of North Carolina.
On its current track, Henri was expected to make landfall in Long Island, New York, or southern New England on Sunday, the center said in an advisory.
More than 42 million people in the region were under a hurricane or tropical storm warning on Saturday, the NHC said.
