A blizzard with hurricane-force winds brought much of the US East Coast to a standstill today, dumping as much as three feet of snow, stranding tens of thousands of travellers and shutting down Washington and New York City.

Fourteen people died and about 345,000 homes and business were left without power as the US north- east and Canada were hit by a blizzard that dumped up to 3ft of snow on the most densely populated part of the region.

The death toll has risen to nine from the powerful winter storm in the US.