New England watches and waits as Irene downgraded

BOSTON (Reuters) - New England woke up on Sunday relieved that Hurricane Irene had been downgraded to a tropical storm, but officials warned high winds and flooding still threatened the region with the brunt of the storm hours away.

"It may be a mitigated event," said Lieutenant Colonel Denis Riel, a spokesman for the Rhode Island National Guard, adding: "Forecasts for rain have been cut and we are clearly postured to weather this well."

But state and local officials across the six-state northeastern region were cautioning it was too soon to call an all clear.

In the town of Conway, 120 miles west of Boston, the South River overflowed in the downtown area, flooding streets and homes. All town roads were closed.

"The storm is now producing some major flooding," Dave Chichester of the town's emergency management team said.

A tornado watch and a flood watch were in effect for parts of southern New England, where tropical storm winds with gusts up to 70 mph/112 kmh were forecast, according to the National Weather Service.

The Massachusetts State Police said some residents were evacuated from the town of Chester after the Westfield River flooded roads.

The Miami-based U.S. National Hurricane Centre said Irene's winds had dropped to 65 miles per hour (100 km per hour) on Sunday morning as it pummelled Long Island and metropolitan New York.

Forecasters said Irene still posed a serious threat of storm surge that could raise water levels by as much as 4 feet to 8 feet (1.2 to 2.4 metres) in coastal areas from Virginia to Massachusetts. Isolated tornadoes in New York and inland areas were also possible.

In New England, strong winds have knocked down power lines leaving more than 500,000 homes and businesses in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire without electricity, officials said. Crews were being dispatched but had to work cautiously in the high winds.

"The worst of this storm has not reached us yet and it is still important to exercise extreme caution," said Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick.

AIRPORT OPEN, FLIGHTS CANCELLED

Few people were moving around on Sunday morning.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority suspended service from 8 a.m. (1200 GMT) on Sunday and Amtrak halted all rail service in the northeast.

"We've been telling staff that when they come in they may have to stay beyond the end of their shift, or overnight," Paul Biddinger, medical director for emergency management at Massachusetts General Hospital said.

"We have sleeping quarters set up and last night a number of staff spent the night, and others will tonight, either because they have no way to get home since the transportation system has shut down, or because they don't feel safe on the roads," he said.

Boston's Logan International Airport was open even though all but two airlines had cancelled all flights, airport spokesman Phil Orlandella said.

A handful of taxicabs cruised Boston's streets but had few passengers as the Massachusetts capital with more than 600,000 residents looked like a ghost town.

Restaurants that normally do brisk business for brunch on Sunday were shut.

"I'm the only one here and I'm just here to answer the phone and say we are closed," said Mario Detina at Anthony's Pier 4, a Boston seafood restaurant.

Still, as grey skies lifted a little, some people began venturing out.

"The biggest challenge will be keeping people safe and away from our 21 beach communities," Rhode Island National Guard spokesman Riel said, saying local police had set up barricades.

Tim Murdoch and Heidi Kayser ventured out to Boston Harbour to see the storm surge. Despite scudding waves that sent sailboats rocking wildly in driving rain, the scene was not as dramatic as they had hoped for.

"The really big storms never make it this far up," Murdoch said. "It's never quite what it is built up to be. We've had plenty of storms like this."

Beyond a few pedestrians, the waterfront remained mostly quiet. A Coast Guard spokesman said on Sunday morning that no mariners called for help overnight.

"Our ships are all still in the harbour and we haven't had to go out," Petty Officer Richard Simpson said.

(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Toni Clarke. Editing by Xavier Briand)