Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency on Saturday ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Henri and summoned 500 National Guard troops to respond to the storm, in one of his final acts before leaving office Monday at midnight. .
“This is as serious as a heart attack,” Cuomo said during a noon press conference about the storm, which could hit East Long Island directly when it arrives some Sunday.
Cuomo noted that the relatively short warnings people have received about Henri could take some by surprise, but said residents should still take it seriously, as it will lead to a deluge of rain, strong winds and dangerous waves. of storm, even if you go down to a tropical storm before it touches land.
“One of the things that worries me is that people in the state have been less noticed to completely update what could happen here, so I hope people take it very seriously,” he said.
He said he spoke with President Biden, who agreed to sign a federal declaration of disaster before the storm, which launches aid from FEMA and other government agencies.
Cuomo supported the call by Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone for residents and visitors to Fire Island to evacuate voluntarily and said other people living in flood-prone areas should do the following. same.
He repeatedly pointed to the destruction of the 2012 Sandy Superstorm as a reminder of what could happen if residents ignore storm warnings and evacuate while they can.
Cuomo also made one of his signature shots at power companies, which in recent years have been slow to restore service in many areas after storms, particularly on Long Island.
“In my opinion, I have told them clearly and convincingly that this is what we pay electric companies to be prepared for storms,” Cuomo said. “We’ve seen this movie before. We don’t pay electric companies to be prepared to prepare energy for sunny days. We pay them to prepare the energy, when it is difficult, and to recover quickly after a storm ”.
PSEG Long Island said separately that it has more than 3,300 workers preparing for the storm and that additional equipment will be brought from other areas if Henri causes serious damage.
Cuomo declined to say why Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul – who will take office on Tuesday – was not a more visible part of storm preparation. He’ll probably have to take control of a difficult recovery when he takes over early Tuesday.
“I’m governor today and I’m at the helm,” he said. “I’ve done that a few times, too.”
He then dodged another question about the sexual abuse scandal that fired him from office, and closed the press conference when he stepped away from the storm.