Flights cancelled as blizzard hits North East US

LARGE parts of the Northeastern United States lay buried under several feet of snow after a blizzard wreaked havoc across large parts of the country causing a state of emergency to be declared in some areas.

The powerful “nor’easter” storm battered coastal New England with strong wind gusts and dumped more than two feet of snow on some areas, severely curbed road and air travel and cut power to thousands of customers.

The storm’s impact could be felt across the Atlantic as dozens of flights to and from New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington were cancelled in Dublin and London.

In all, US carriers reported hundreds of flight cancellations.

Boston’s Logan airport shut down as crews could not keep runways clear amid whiteout conditions.

The storm hit Rhode Island particularly hard, with snow falling on that state at a rate of 3 to 4 inches an hour, one official said. Governor Donald Carcieri ordered most state and municipal government offices to close and asked businesses to do the same so crews could dig out roads.

“What makes this so bad is the wind,” said Lt. Col. Mike McNamara of the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency.

States of emergency were declared in both Rhode Island and Massachusetts, with National Guard troops helping to clear roads and evacuate citizens from coastal areas. At least 25,000 customers in southeast Massachusetts were without power.

New Yorkers began digging out from more than a foot of snow the storm dumped on the region on Saturday and early yesterday. A total of 13 inches had fallen in Central Park, but 18 inches or more were recorded in the worst-hit areas of eastern Long Island, where 10,000 residents lost power, and in New Jersey’s northwestern suburbs.

About a foot of snow fell in Philadelphia, where 1,000 workers cleared Lincoln Financial Field of snow and ice in time for the kickoff of a National Football League conference championship game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons.