NOR'EASTER KILLS ONE, LEAVES THOUSANDS WITHOUT POWER IN US NORTHEAST

A nor'easter battered the north-eastern United States over the weekend, bringing heavy rain, high winds and coastal flooding from North Carolina to New England, according to reports. At least one person was killed when a tree fell on him in a car park in Brooklyn; the victim, a New York City housing authority employee, was pronounced dead at Brookdale University Hospital, police said. New York's governor, Kathy Hochul, declared a state of emergency covering the Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Queens, Richmond, Suffolk and Westchester counties. Power outages spread across the region, with the tracking website Poweroutage.US recording nearly 150,000 households without electricity, though one report put the figure at tens of thousands. Hundreds of flights were delayed or cancelled, with FlightAware recording more than 3,000 delays and around 430 cancellations. The Federal Aviation Administration advised travellers to check with airlines for updated flight information.

Boston, New York and Philadelphia were among the cities in the storm's path, with the National Weather Service warning of potential major coastal flooding and road closures. The agency said the storm was expected to bring significant flooding to the mid-Atlantic coast over multiple high tide cycles through the weekend, and urged residents near the shore to prepare for roads and property to be inundated. In Queens, high winds brought down a tree in the Glendale area, and the New York City Fire Department evacuated a nearby building as a precaution after downed power lines forced the closure of a road; no injuries were reported there. Along the Jersey Shore, residents spent Saturday clearing debris between high tides after flood water pushed into streets and homes. Eight counties in New Jersey were already under a state of emergency declared before the storm arrived. Rough surf and dangerous rip currents were also reported along the coast.

Officials cautioned that conditions could deteriorate further as the storm continued to affect the mid-Atlantic and New England. Authorities had not determined by Saturday whether wind was the direct cause of the tree fall that killed the New York City employee. The storm was forecast to continue into the early part of the week, with coastal flooding warnings remaining in effect. Emergency declarations in New York and New Jersey remained in place as clean-up efforts continued across the affected areas.