Thousands were without power on the U.S.East Coast on Friday night as roads flooded in some coastal New Jersey communities, the first major signs of a powerful nor'easter expected to create dangerous conditions through the weekend.Tens of millions of people are in the path of the storm already beginning to lash the region with strong winds and rain as it braces for much more.
Dangerous flooding is expected along the Mid-Atlantic coast, particularly near New Jersey and Delaware, according to the National Weather Service.In the coastal New Jersey borough of Surf City, water, with waves rippling along its surface, flooded the streets, inundating some homes.About 34 miles (54.7 kilometers) up the coast in the borough of Manasquan, where some roads were also flooding, Mayor Mike Mangan said he expected "a lot of water in the streets for a long time." A voluntary evacuation had been issued earlier in some low-lying areas of the community.Concerts were canceled, along with dozens of flights going into airports in Boston, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard on Friday and Saturday.
Several airlines were offering to waive some change or cancellation fees for some East Coast flights through the weekend.Brian Kelly, the mayor of the tiny New Jersey beach community Sea Bright, said the borough is bracing for winds up to 50 mph (80 kph) and flooding that could reach up to 6 feet (1.8 meters) on some streets.Officials expect the flooding to start Saturday and worsen by midday."It's going to be worse than average.
We do have probably one or two flooding events a year, sometimes more, sometimes less, but I think this one will be closer to an Irene-scale flooding event," Kelly said, referencing the 2011 storm that caused major flooding in the Northeast."I hope I'm wrong, but that's my gut feeling."Kelly hopes hundreds of residents living in low-lying areas will consider evacuating.
He said the town will open its recreation center for evacuees.Peak wind gusts could approach 60 to 65 m...