Eastern US braced for worst flooding for 14 years

Coastal Long Island in the US could see some of its worst flooding in 14 years when a hard-blowing nor'easter begins whipping through New York today, officials said.

Forecasters were expecting sustained winds of 40mph (65kmph) and a storm-surge of between three and five feet (90-150cm), a combination that could cause as much damage as a winter storm that wreaked havoc on the island in late 1992 Gov. Eliot Spitzer said.

The North East braced for strong wind, heavy rain and unseasonable snow as the storm blew across the Plains. The storm, which rattled the Gulf states Friday and yesterday with violent thunderstorms and raked Texas with at least two tornadoes, was blamed for five deaths.

"It is unusual for this time of year. We probably see a storm like this, at this time of year, probably once every 25 years or so," said Brian Korty, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Camp Springs, Maryland.

A tornado on Friday night tore roofs off houses and destroyed porches and garages in Haltom City, Texas. About a dozen tractor-trailer rigs were blown on to their sides.

A second tornado that night in Benbrook, south-west of Fort Worth, caused minor damage, according to the National Weather Service.

One man was killed in Fort Worth by a pile of lumber that fell on him from his truck during Friday's storm, and a police officer in Irving died when his patrol car slid on wet pavement and struck a utility pole, authorities said.

Three people were killed in Kansas in traffic accidents on highways covered with ice and slush, police said.

By yesterday afternoon, lines of strong thunderstorms had rolled across Louisiana and Mississippi into northern Alabama, and the National Weather Service posted tornado warnings for wide areas of Mississippi and some parts of Alabama.

The weather system was forecast to strengthen today when it reaches the East Coast and form a nor'easter, a storm that follows the coast northward, with north-easterly wind driving waves and heavy rain.

A flood watch was posted for the New York City region.

Mr Spitzer said some low-lying areas of Long Island may need to be evacuated, and he deployed 3,200 members of the National Guard to areas predicted to be in the storm's path.