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Hurricane Fringes Lash at Areas of New England

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<i> From Associated Press</i>

Hurricane Edouard’s fringes lashed southern Massachusetts and Rhode Island late Sunday with heavy rains and strong winds, washing out plans for Labor Day parades and picnics.

As the storm lurked just off the Northeast coast, its wobbling and weakening winds of 90 mph left forecasters unsure whether its center would make landfall. But they said it was still possible Edouard could come very close to, or over, southeastern New England early today.

Nantucket, the small island off Massachusetts’ Cape Cod, lost power Sunday evening as 50-mph gusts blew through and storms filled waterfront streets with 1 1/2 feet of water.

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Massachusetts Gov. William F. Weld declared a state of emergency, police in some coastal communities asked residents to evacuate voluntarily and the Red Cross opened shelters throughout the region.

Vacationers, many of whom had just arrived for the Labor Day weekend, turned around and fled the area’s resort beaches. Outbound traffic was backed up 18 miles on Cape Cod.

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