Henri Isn't Worrying Massachusetts and Rhode Island Residents

U.S.|‘We’re New Englanders, we tin grip it’: Storm prep is simply a mixed bag.

• Aug. 21, 2021Updated 7:35 p.m. ET

BOSTON — When it looked similar Hurricane Henri would straight deed New England, customers converged connected Adler’s Design Center & Hardware successful Providence, R.I., wherever they bought each of the store’s kerosene lamps earlier moving connected to flashlights and candles, said Leanne Dolloff, a cashier.

Many longtime residents of the region, however, were skeptical that the tempest would beryllium excessively disruptive.

“We’re New Englanders, we tin grip it,” said Ms. Dolloff, 40, who remembers waking up to a floating furniture successful her Lowell, Mass., location erstwhile Hurricane Gloria — the past hurricane to marque landfall connected Long Island — swept done successful 1985.

Officials were preparing successful lawsuit Henri causes arsenic overmuch harm arsenic Gloria oregon Hurricane Bob, which tore its mode up the East Coast successful 1991. More than a twelve radical died successful each storm.

Gloria was a Category 1 tempest erstwhile it deed Long Island, forcing hundreds of thousands of radical to evacuate, bringing down thousands of trees and leaving 1.5 cardinal homes without power. Bob made landfall arsenic a Category 2 storm, and millions were affected by downed trees, powerfulness outages and flooding.

Bill Shore, a longtime nonmigratory of Newport, R.I., remembers however terrifying it was to acquisition Bob. He had driven to New Jersey to unafraid a vessel and past frantically drove backmost to prevention his house.

“Limbs were coming down,” helium said, “but I made it backmost without getting clobbered.”

Mr. Shore, however, said helium was not excessively disquieted astir Henri. He has a generator astatine location and planned to support his 30-foot sailboat successful the water, though helium was reasoning astir renting a concatenation saw to tidy up aft the storm.

In Boston’s Seaport District, which was built upon the mud flats and brackish marshes on Boston Harbor successful the decades aft Bob, bars and restaurants similar Harpoon, Legal Sea Foods and Yankee Lobster had not made plans to adjacent for Henri. Farther east, successful the Cape Cod assemblage of Buzzards Bay, boats were being removed from the marina but small was being done to unafraid state grills oregon platform chairs.

Henri was expected to flood galore areas already inundated from Fred.

Officials successful Boston said they were gathering barriers astir the city’s astir susceptible subway presumption and would suspend immoderate transit services connected Sunday. Amtrak announced that work betwixt New York and Boston and betwixt New Haven, Conn., and Springfield, Mass., would beryllium canceled connected Sunday.

But passengers waiting to committee the ferry from Boston to Provincetown connected Friday nighttime were cautiously optimistic that their plans would not beryllium foiled.

Gary Livolsi said helium had been done a batch of nor’easters and was contented simply making definite the umbrellas and cushions were not near connected his patio.

“I’m hoping they’re overestimating it, arsenic they often do,” said Susan Mahoney, who was disconnected to walk the play successful Provincetown but was afloat prepared to enactment longer if necessary. “I brought other wine.”

Catherine McGloin and Beth Treffeisen contributed reporting.