WASHINGTON: Devastating floods after record rainfall in the southern US state of Tennessee have left at least 21 people dead and at least 20 more missing, local officials said Sunday in what they warned was a preliminary toll. Tennessee was hit Saturday by what meteorologists called historic storms and flooding, dumping as much as 17 inches (38 centimeters) of rain. Rural roads, state highways, bridges and hundreds of homes were washed out and widespread power outages affected thousands of people.
However, tropical storm Henri was downgraded to a tropical depression late Sunday after slamming into Rhode Island on the US east coast, knocking out power to thousands of Americans, uprooting trees, and bringing record rainfall. In Humpreys County, about 90 minutes from country music hub Nashville, the downpour on Saturday broke a 24-hour rainfall record for Tennessee, the National Weather Service said. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee described "picture of loss and heartache" in Waverly, a hard-hit town of around 4,500 where 20 of the victims died.
Henri is a rare tropical storm to strike America's northeastern seaboard and comes as the surface layer of oceans warms due to climate change. The warming is causing cyclones to become more powerful and carry more water, posing an increasing threat to the world's coastal communities, scientists say.
In Newark, New Jersey, flash flooding caused havoc with emergency services rescuing 86 people, including 16 children, from submerged vehicles. In Helmetta, 30 miles south, volunteer firefighters waded through waist-deep water to help evacuate residents from waterlines rising dangerously close to their homes. Some 79,000 people lost power in Rhode Island and another 33,000 suffered blackouts in Connecticut, according to the tracking website poweroutage.us.
More than 200 flights were canceled at Newark airport while New York's LaGuardia and JFK airports canceled almost 200 between them, they said. President Joe Biden ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate disaster relief efforts in Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York, where Governor Andrew Cuomo deployed 500 National Guard soldiers.
"We're doing everything we can now to help those states prepare, respond and recover," he told reporters. Henri missed New York City by several miles but still caused tropical storm conditions overnight and throughout Sunday, where a flash flood warning was in effect until 5.45 pm. - AFP