2023 has already set a record for billion-dollar disasters in the US
There have been 23 extreme weather events so far this year that caused $1 billion or more in losses.
LEARN MOREPosted: 7:51 p.m. EDT Sep 13, 2023
Parts of New England are bracing for more dangerous flooding as heavy rains continue and Hurricane Lee starts to threaten on the coast.
The rain has already caused sinkholes and catastrophic flash flooding, after 10 inches of precipitation fell in 6 hours in some places. Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey declared a state of emergency Tuesday night after the event.
Parts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island were under flash flood warnings as the rain resumed on Wednesday.
Dean Mazzarella, Mayor of Leominster, Massachusetts, said the downtown had mostly flooded and some buildings had collapsed.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Lee is moving northward in the Atlantic Ocean, and is expected to bring storm surge threats to coastal areas in the Northeast as it draws closer.
According to the National Hurricane Center forecast, it's possible the storm may make landfall as a hurricane on Maine's eastern coast.
"Hurricane conditions, heavy rainfall, and coastal flooding are possible in portions of eastern Maine on Saturday, and a Hurricane Watch has been issued for that area," the National Hurricane Center wrote on Wednesday.
A tropical storm watch was in effect for Watch Hill, Rhode Island, to Stonington, Maine; Block Island, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.
A storm surge watch was in effect for Cape Cod Bay and Nantucket.
The last hurricane to have a significant effect on Maine was Hurricane Bob in 1991. It was responsible for three deaths and caused more than $5 million in damage.
