Nor’easter storm batters US east coast with heavy winds and power outages

A strong, deadly storm known as a nor’easter battered the US’s east coast over the weekend, bringing power outages, flooding, damaging winds and hazardous ocean conditions.

Trees and power lines were knocked down across the region, at least one person was killed and hundreds of thousands were left without electricity as officials cautioned that conditions could deteriorate further.

There was significant coastal flooding, rough surf, powerful winds, rain and dangerous rip currents from North Carolina through New England. Boston and the New York City tri-state area were among the regions affected.

Power outages by Sunday were already widespread, with nearly 150,000 households losing electricity so far, according to the website Poweroutage.US.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) advised travelers to check with their airlines for updated flight information. FlightAware reported more than 3,000 US delays and nearly 430 cancellations.

As a result of the storm, New York’s governor, Kathy Hochul, declared a state of emergency covering the Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Queens, Richmond, Suffolk and Westchester counties.

A fallen tree in the east New York City borough of Brooklyn resulted in a death on Saturday during the nor’easter. A 56-year-old New York City housing authority employee was killed when a tree came down on him in a parking lot.

Police said he was pronounced dead at Brookdale University hospital. Authorities had not immediately determined whether wind caused the tree to fall.

In Queens, high winds caused widespread disruption after a tree fell at about 5.40pm in the Glendale area, with downed power lines forcing authorities to close the roadway. As a precaution, the New York City fire department evacuated a nearby building. No injuries were reported in that incident.

Along the Jersey Shore, residents spent Saturday removing debris and cleaning up between periods of high tide after the nor’easter forced flood water into streets and homes near the New Jersey coast. Eight counties in New Jersey remain under a state of emergency issued before the coastal storm arrived.

The storm struck the mid-Atlantic and New England over the weekend and was forecast to continue into the early part of this week. As the week continues, flooding was expected to rise and recede along with the tides.

The National Weather Service (NWS) expected coastal flooding to bring significant flooding from the Jersey Shore south to the northern Outer Banks of North Carolina, with more moderate flooding forecast along the Massachusetts coast.