A powerful nor’easter has knocked out power to thousands of homes and businesses across the northeastern United States, grounded hundreds of flights and prompted state leaders to declare emergencies.
Two weekend concerts by pop star Ed Sheeran at Gillette Stadium outside Boston were also cancelled as a precaution.
“This storm is expected to bring major coastal flooding to the Mid-Atlantic Coast over multiple high tide cycles through the weekend,” the National Weather Service said in its latest forecast.
“Prepare immediately for significant inundation in low-lying areas near the shore, including roads underwater and impacts to homes and businesses.”
The storm led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights, including 130 at Boston’s Logan International Airport alone, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware.
Major airlines, including JetBlue, United Airlines and American Airlines, issued travel alerts allowing passengers to change their flights without paying additional fees.
More than 75,000 customers across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts were without power as of 10:00 am (1400 GMT) on Saturday, according to poweroutage.com.
The United Nations, where world leaders are gathered for the General Assembly, also urged media organisations covering the event to remove broadcasting equipment from outside its New York headquarters because of strong winds.
