PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Heavy rain and strong winds from Hurricane Irene arrived in Rhode Island on Sunday morning, knocking down trees and power lines and leaving 155,000 customers of National Grid, the state's electricity supplier, without electricity.
National Grid spokeswoman Debbie Drew says the company is "working hard" to restore service to customers, but it could take hours or days until everyone's electricity is restored. National Grid has 477,000 customers in Rhode Island.
The good news for Rhode Islanders is that meteorologists have downgraded the storm from a Category 1 hurricane to a tropical storm, and state police say no injuries or fatalities have been reported.
Wind gusts reached 45 mph and are expected to increase up to 70 mph, according to Lt. Col. Denis Riel, a spokesman for the Rhode Island National Guard. Besides the strong winds, the storm is bringing heavy rain. Up to four inches of rain are expected.
"We are being impacted differently than North Carolina, but we still expect a very significant storm surge this afternoon," says Melissa Withers, a spokeswoman for the city of Providence.
Providence's Fox Point Hurricane Barrier, a 25-foot-high, 3,000-foot-long structure built in 1966 to prevent floodwaters from damaging the city, was closed this morning. Before the barrier was built, downtown Providence was inundated with several feet of water during hurricanes in 1938 and 1954.
Providence officials have not called for residents to evacuate, but inhabitants in areas of at least 16 Rhode Island towns and cities were told to leave their homes to seek shelter elsewhere in mandatory and voluntary evacuations, according to the state's Emergency Management Agency.
Mandatory evacuations were ordered in areas of several coastal towns and cities, including Westerly, Narragansett and South Kingstown.
Many towns and cities, including Providence, banned parking on streets, and all state campgrounds are closed.
Power was lost Sunday morning at state police headquarters in North Scituate, and the facility is running on generator power, says Lt. Col. Raymond White, a state police spokesman. An occupied state police car was damaged when a tree fell on it in a state trooper's driveway in North Kingstown, White says.
White says flooding has been minor but is increasing in the state's southern coastal areas. All airline flights at the state's biggest airport, T.F. Green in Warwick, are canceled, though the airport is open for emergency flights. Airport officials say they expect airline flights to resume Monday morning.
Some Rhode Island colleges adjusted schedules in anticipation of the storm. Rhode Island College told students to move in Monday instead of today, and Providence College told some freshmen scheduled to arrive Sunday to come a day later.
At the Newport Yacht Club, about 55 boats were removed from the water before the storm to avoid damage, says Rudy Borgueta, the club's steward.
Providence's popular music venue, Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel, postponed a concert by Tab Benoit on Saturday night, but the American Idol summer tour went on as scheduled at the Dunkin Donuts Center.
