Cleanup from Tropical Storm Henri Begins in Northeast US
August 25, 2021
(AP) Residents across the waterlogged Northeast began clearing mud and tearing out sodden carpets Monday after deluges dropped by Tropical Storm Henri, whose remnants threatened further flooding in New England as the system made a slow trek back to the sea.
The smell of sewage filled the air as residents of Rossmoor, a retirement community in central New Jersey’s Monroe Township, returned to soaked homes and ruined possessions after Henri turned their streets into rivers.
“This is what we were left with. Nothing, nothing,” lamented Roseann Kiernan.
Luke Becker, who operates the Four Boys ice cream stand along with his three brothers — one of six the family owns — said nearly 4 feet of water rushed into the shop, dislodging a tall cooler and leaving 3 inches of mud behind.
“We were initially hoping to be back open by Labor Day, but now it looks like we’ve got to go through all the plumbing and rip out a ton of electrical because we don’t know how much of that was affected,” he said.
Henri spared coastal areas of New York and New England major damage when its center made landfall Sunday in Rhode Island. But its size and slow speed led to deluges in areas from Maine to Pennsylvania.
“The ground is so saturated with water that every inch of rain creates immediate floods and flash floods,” Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said Monday after seeing damage in the community of Canterbury, where nearly every home lost power Sunday amid heavy winds.
Story by David Porter and Ted Shaffrey for the Associated Press. Cover image shows lightening striking the World Trade Center area in New York on August 21 as Tropical Storm Henri made its approach.
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