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Havoc— now millions left to swelter in heatwave

Violent storms that swept the eastern US left at least 13 people dead, authorities said while 3 million people were without power — and air-conditioning — on one of the hottest days on record.

Six people were reported killed in Virginia, including a 90-year-old woman asleep in bed when a tree slammed into her home.

Two young cousins in New Jersey were killed when a tree fell on their tent while camping.

Police in Maryland said a man was killed when a tree fell onto his car.

Hundreds of thousands in Washington DC, and other areas were still largely without power as temperatures were expected to exceed 40C across the region.

Power officials said the outages wouldn’t be repaired for several days to a week, likening the damage to a serious hurricane.

People chose to escape the heat in shopping malls or hotels.

Drivers navigated through intersections left unguided by dead traffic lights.

In West Virginia, 232 Amtrak passengers spent a night on a train that was blocked on both sides by trees that fell on the tracks. In Illinois, storm damage forced the transfer of dozens of maximumsecurity, mentally ill prisoners from one prison to another.

In suburban Washington, emergency call centres were without power and residents were told to go to police or fire stations if they needed help. The storms started in the Midwest and moved quickly