|
New York: Tens of
thousands of homes in northeast America were without power in peak
winter, thousands of flights were cancelled and people were asked
to stay off roads as a monster blizzard carpeted cities from New
York to Boston under several feet of snow and paralysed normal
life.
After a day of pelting wet snow, five states - New York,
Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Rhode Island -
declared state of emergency, and Massachusetts, whose capital is
Boston, banned vehicles from every road in the state, the New York
Times reported.
The storm that began Friday morning in parts of New York state had
by night fall delivered whipping winds and over a foot of snow in
some parts, with prospects of even double that by the time it's
done Saturday, according to CNN.
Tens of millions of people were in the blizzard's path, and many
more saw their hopes of getting anywhere squashed as thousands of
flight were cancelled at some 60 airports in the east coast and
its interior and the government ordered that drivers stay off the
road.
As dusk fell, conditions quickly deteriorated. Major highways were
almost completely abandoned and downtown Boston, in blizzard
conditions, was a ghost town lost in a swirl of howling winds and
snow, it said.
In New York City, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg told people to stay
home and warned them not to "panic buy" gasoline because the
supply was plentiful, the Times said.
But the memory of Hurricane Sandy in October was still so raw that
many across the region went on buying sprees anyway, emptying
store shelves and filling extra containers of gasoline in addition
to their car tanks, it said.
In Massachusetts, the snowstorm, which is expected to intensify
throughout Friday night and last through Saturday afternoon, had
left more than 175,000 homes and businesses in the dark by Friday
night, according to Boston Herald.
Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick issued an executive order
banning vehicle traffic - with the exception of public safety and
emergency workers - Friday afternoon and said it will remain the
law until he rescinds it.
Breaking the ban carries a penalty of up to one year in jail or a
fine, an aide to the governor said. Patrick added the state
expects to increase 1,000 National Guard members on duty to 5,000
over the course of the weekend to combat the storm.
|
Comments
|
Quick links