WORLD Storms kill 7, cut lights on US coast

NEARLY two million customers remained without power along the eastern US seaboard as residents braced for more flooding following a powerful storm that killed at least seven people.

The snow and rain ended by Saturday morning but forecasters said the remnants of the storm, known as a nor’easter, would continue to lash the northeastern US with wind gusts of up to 80km/ h even as it moved hundreds of kilometres out to sea.

The high winds were expected to hamper efforts to restore power.

The National Weather Service warned that the next high tide around noon local time yesterday would bring renewed flooding, with a surge of up to a metre and waves of up to eight metres, and a warning was in effect for virtually the entire New England coastline.

After several hours of suspended service due to power outages, trains between New York and Washington along Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor resumed at 11am local time, the passenger railroad said in a statement.

It warned, however, that passengers should still expect delays.

The storm brought hurricane- force winds to Boston and nearby shore communities on Friday ( US time), sending seawater churning into the streets.

It was the second time the area has been flooded so far this year.

Gusts downed trees and power lines across the region.

Falling trees killed seven people – including two boys who died when trees struck their homes – in Connecticut, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Virginia, according to local media and police.

Private forecasting service AccuWeather said the storm dumped as much as 46cm of snow on parts of New York state and Pennsylvania.

The Massachusetts town of East Bridgewater received nearly 15cm of rain, the NWS said.

The storm also snarled transportation from the Middle Atlantic into New England, with more than a quarter of flights into and out of New York’s three major airports and Boston’s airport cancelled on Friday, tracking service FlightAware. com reported.

The problems carried over into Saturday, with hundreds of flights cancelled into and out of New York and Boston, according to the website.

One flight landing at Washington’s Dulles International Airport on Friday experienced turbulence so rough that most passengers became sick and the pilots were on the verge of becoming ill, the Federal Aviation Administration reported later.