Henri was downgraded to a tropical storm on Sunday, but a state of emergency remains in effect for dozens of counties from New York City to Albany.

Governor Cuomo announced Sunday morning that President Joe Biden has approved the state's request for a pre-landfall emergency declaration for 26 counties in advance of Henri, meaning the state and local governments will be reimburse for all the costs pertaining to preparing for the storm. 

Cuomo says the focus now is on Long Island and the Hudson Valley, as both area are expected to see a significant amount of rainfall, which in the past have seen significant flooding issues. 

"Tropical Storm Henri is already causing issues on Long Island and New York City with heavy rain, flooding, and downed trees," Cuomo said Sunday. "I applaud and thank President Biden for his decision to issue a pre-landfall disaster declaration for New York, and I am directing our State agencies to deploy additional emergency response assets to areas likely to be impacted by this storm. As always, we will do everything we can to help our local partners with any and all response and recovery operations.  This storm is unpredictable and, although it appears to be moving further east, the threats of storm surge, coastal and inland flooding, high winds and power outages remain very real. Now is the time to be smart - pay close attention to weather reports, and, for the safety of yourself, your family, and responders, avoid any unnecessary travel."

Henri made landfall near Westerly, Rhode Island Sunday afternoon. After landfall, Cuomo says a turn to the north and a slower speed are expected as Henri moves over southern New England with sustained 70 mile per hour winds.

Cuomo says heavy equipment and emergency rescue teams are in place in the affect areas of the state, along with 500 members of the national guard, and 1,000 state police officers who have also been deployed. 

In preparation for heavy rain and strong winds, the following counties were placed under the State of Emergency on Saturday: Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Queens, Richmond, Suffolk, Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, Dutchess, Sullivan, Columbia, Delaware, Greene, Broome, Chenango, Otsego, Rensselaer, Schoharie, Albany, Montgomery, Schenectady, Saratoga, and contiguous counties.

The governor, who will leave office early this week following a sexual harassment scandal, urged people not to make bad choices and put themselves in places where they needed to be rescued.

“We had days and days to prepare for Superstorm Sandy, and people had heard about the coming storm for days,” Cuomo said Saturday. “This changed trajectory, so we actually have less notice. And one of the things I’m concerned about is the people of the state have had less notice to really fully actualize what might happen here. So, I hope people take this very seriously.”

The governor said that New York City is "largely spared," but that New Yorkers should still take precautions this weekend.

"The state is doing everything we can to be ready with our emergency resources," Cuomo said Saturday. "We're pre-positioning heavy equipment all throughout Long Island, all throughout the Hudson Valley and the Capital District region. We're preparing water rescue teams for Long Island and swift water rescue teams for the Hudson Valley and in Westchester. I'm deploying, as of today, 500 National Guard, we are calling out with the necessary equipment that the National Guard brings with them, high water vehicles, et cetera. The State Police will have approximately 1,000 personnel who will be on duty in the affected areas."

President Biden said on Sunday that his administration is doing everything it can to help communities impacted by the storm, though it could still cause power outages and damages for hundreds of thousands of people.

Biden said on Sunday that Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administrator Deanne Criswell is ready to take on the storm, and has come to the aid of New York state in the past.

"She led the emergency response in New York City and she was one of the key federal officials leading the response to Super Storm Sandy,” Biden said. “She knows this area very, very well and knows what's needed better than anyone."

The president spoke just hours after approving New York’s request for a pre-landfall emergency declaration.