Storm Henri: US East Coast warned of significant damage

Residents on the US East Coast have been urged to prepare for one of the most powerful storms in years.

Tropical Storm Henri, which is expected to hit New York's Long Island and southern parts of New England on Sunday, has weakened from a hurricane.

But officials say the threats to the region remain high.

A state of emergency has been declared in parts of New York state as winds of up to 75mph (120km/h) and as much as six inches (15cm) of rain are expected.

On Saturday - when the storm was initially upgraded to a hurricane - Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator Deanne Criswell told CNN that "even if it doesn't make landfall as a hurricane, the tropical force winds and the storm surge can cause significant damage".

"We're going to see power outages, we're going to see downed trees, and even after the storm has passed, the threat of falling trees and limbs is still out there," she added.

On Saturday evening, a concert taking place in New York City's Central Park was abruptly stopped "due to approaching severe weather", police said.

About 60,000 people were thought to be attending the "homecoming" concert - a celebration of the city's return to hosting large events following the restrictions caused by the pandemic.

The line-up of artists included Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith, Paul Simon and also Barry Manilow - whose performance was cut short as concert-goers were told to make their way to the nearest exits.

About six million people living near the coast in parts of Long Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts had been issued with hurricane warnings before the storm was downgraded.

More than 36 million people in large parts of southern New England as well as New York and New Jersey had received tropical storm warnings.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency for Long Island and New York City as well as other parts of the state, pleading with residents: "Please take this storm seriously."

Massachusetts has closed its parks and beaches until Monday, the office of Governor Charlie Baker said.

With about 300,000 people predicted to lose electricity, officials urged "all residents... to begin storm preparations today, and to pay close attention to local weather".

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