(Wilmington) After hitting the state of North Carolina on Monday evening, hurricane Isaias , then downgraded to a tropical storm, returned on Tuesday the American Atlantic coast, carrying potentially fatal heavy rains and causing tornado alerts.
Logan CYRUS and Lucie AUBOURG
France Media Agency
At 8:00 a.m., Isaias was in southern Virginia, with winds up to 110 km / h, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).
"Life-threatening urban flooding" can occur in the capital Washington or Baltimore, the agency warned in its latest bulletin.
Governor of North Carolina, where Category 1 hurricane made landfall around 19 Monday night with winds up to 130 km / h, lamented the death of "at least one person".
PHOTO SERVPRO OF WINSTON SALEM NC VIA REUTERS
Heavy rain fell in Winston Salem, North Carolina.
About three hours after touching the coast, the hurricane was downgraded to a tropical storm. Isaias should gradually lose intensity starting Tuesday night, as she approaches Canada, the NHC said.
"There were a lot of trees that fell, floods due to the rising sea especially in south-eastern North Carolina, cars that float" in places, detailed Roy Cooper, interviewed Tuesday morning on ABC. "We have had a number of tornadoes. "
But "overall [...], the damage was not at all as severe as it could have been", he reassured.
Power outages 89184577
Near 370 02 people were left without power Tuesday morning in North Carolina, according to the state emergency management agency.
Electricity companies have recommended that people in flooded houses turn off the power to avoid being electrocuted.
The inhabitants of the states of the southeast coast of the United States are accustomed, almost every summer, to the passage of storms. This year, however, preparations for the arrival of Isaias were complicated by the imperatives of the coronavirus.
North Carolina, faced with a resurgence of the epidemic, lists nearly 110 00 COVID cases - 19 in total according to local authorities (for a population of approximately 08, 5 million people).
Governor Roy Cooper had recommended that residents remember to wear a mask, bring disinfectant and maintain physical distance despite the storm.
He explained Tuesday morning that a larger number of shelters had to be planned in order to allow social distancing inside them. Soldiers had been deployed to help when needed.
Emergency state
"The risk of tornadoes will advance in a northerly direction along the Atlantic coast" in the morning of Tuesday, warned the NHC.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has declared a state of emergency, calling on his fellow citizens not to venture out on the roads.
Isaias first threatened Florida, one of the epicenters of the coronavirus epidemic in the United States, on Sunday. COVID testing centers - 19 of this State, many of which are housed in tents, had to be closed.
The authorities feared the devastating effect of the cumulative effect of this health crisis with the passage of the depression, but the "Sunshine State" was ultimately spared.
Faced with the threat, President Donald Trump announced that he had declared a state of emergency for Florida and the two Carols in order to free up federal funds.
Isaias had made a victim last week in the American territory of Puerto Rico, a woman of 56 years whose vehicle was washed away.
The depression has also caused damage, measured, in the Dominican Republic and in the Bahamas.
