At least five people have died after a powerful storm hit the East Coast of the United States on Friday. Strong winds, heavy rain and snow affected roads, disrupted thousands of flights and forced the government to keep several offices in Washington DC closed, AFP reported.
Nearly 1.7 million homes and business have no electricity in the northeastern and midwestern parts of the US because of Winter Storm Riley. Flood alerts were issued from New Jersey to Massachusetts on the eastern coast, according to the National Weather Service.
Winter weather advisories, winter storm warnings and high wind warnings are in effect from the northeast to the mid-Atlantic regions. The storm is expected to subside by the end of the day.
Fallen trees killed a 44-year-old man in Virginia, a 77-year-old woman in Maryland’s Baltimore city, a 70-year-old man in Rhode Island and an 11-year-old boy in New York. A six-year-old boy was killed near Richmond after a tree struck him while he was asleep in his home.
More than 3,000 domestic and international flights were cancelled and nearly 2,500 others were delayed on Friday. Train services were temporarily suspended along many corridors as a precaution.
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