POWERFUL STORM IN U.S. CLAIMS 5 LIVES

Surge damages properties, disrupts transport and causes huge power outage

APOWERFUL storm that killed at least five people moved away from the northeastern United States yesterday, leaving a trail of flooded streets, power outages and brutal winds, forecasters said.

Snow and rain tapered off as skies cleared, but wind gusts of up to 80kph persisted through the day across the region, the National Weather Service said.

In the city here and nearby coastal communities, storm surges and high tides sent seawater in the streets, the second floods there this year. Wind gusts of more than 144kph downed trees and power lines.

Almost 2.4 million homes and businesses had no power in the Northeast and Midwest early yesterday. Some utility companies warned customers that power might not be restored until later in the day or today.

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam and Maryland Governor Larry Hogan declared a states of emergency.

Falling trees killed five people, including two boys, across the region, 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.

It also snarled transport 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 the city’s airport cancelled, tracking service FlightAware.com reported.

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