Seven people have died and homes along the East Coast are destroyed as a result of the deadly Nor Easter ‘bombogensis’ which tore through the region on Friday leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
Two million people are without power and 7,000 flights were either cancelled or delayed as the storm wreaked havoc with winds of up to 80mph and heavy snow and rain.
In Massachusetts, coastal flooding drowned the city of Boston and inundated its surrounding suburbs. While the storm has passed, officials say another round of floods is expected at high tide on Saturday.
States of emergency have been declared in Pennsylvania and Maryland where authorities have had to rescue people from homes and cars.
Falling trees have proven to be the most deadly component of the storm.
In Chester, Virginia, six-year-old Anthony Hamilton was killed after a tree crashed into his home while he was asleep in the top bunk.
A tree crushed a vehicle in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, on Friday. The driver was the only person in the car and they survived
An abandoned car in Quincy, Massachusetts, is swept away in flood water on Friday. More floods are expected throughout the day on Saturday as high tide approaches again
An 11-year-old boy in Putnam, New York, was killed in the same way and Shawn Gregory Walker died when a tree crashed into the car he was traveling in.
Another motorist was killed near Stamford, Connecticut after a tree fell on a car, state police said.
In Baltimore, officials confirmed the death of a woman, 77, who was struck by a large tree branch and pronounced dead at the scene.
In Newport, Rhode Island, 72-year old Robert Beaver was hit and killed by a tree at his home down the street from The Breakers, the Gilded Age mansion built for the Vanderbilt family.
In Maryland, a 100-year-old woman was rescued from her home after a downed tree crashed into it, trapping her in her bedroom.
More power outages can be expected throughout the day as the wind lingers, according to forecasters.
The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency warned on Saturday morning that a third round of major coastal flooding would be seen as the high tide approached.
A police car in Parkway, New Jersey, was wrecked on Friday. The police officer driving it lost control on an icy road while responding to a call of another overturned vehicle. The cop survived with minor injuries
A felled tree in New Jersey on Friday caused closures on the roads. Large swathes of the North East remain impassable because of the storm
It will cause another 3ft of water to cascade through streets, they said, and potentially into homes.
AmTrak suspended services on Friday as wind, snow and rain pounded the region. The service remained inoperational on Saturday morning because of downed power lines between New York City and Washington DC.
At Dulles Airport in Virginia, sustained winds of more than 50mph were recorded for more than 12 hours straight.
The highest winds yesterday were recorded in Barnstable, Massachusetts, where a gust of 93mph was recorded.
On Nantucket, gusts reached 90mph and 91mph winds were seen in Wellfleet. On Saturday, they are not expected to surpass 60mph.
The National Guard is on hand to assist with rescues in Massachusetts and state help is being given to Maryland and Pennsylvania as a result of the states of emergency which have been declared.
Republican Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker activated 200 National Guard members to help with the storm.
‘We’re expecting to see more severe flooding issues here than we did in the Jan. 4 storm,’ when a Nor’easter lashed the region with heavy snow and rain, he said.
The storm has veered away from the coast but is still causing disruption with strong winds which will last throughout Saturday
A woman and child are rescued by boat in Quincy, Massachusetts, on Friday after getting stuck in flood waters
The Quincy, Massachusetts Marine Unit Dive Team is transported down flooded Sea Street by a front-end loader on Friday
Along Boston’s Long Wharf, not far from the Fanueil Hall tourist area, large piles of sandbags were in place around a subway station and a Marriott hotel, a spot that flooded with icy seawater during an early January storm.
A combination of heavy rains, monthly extreme high tides and a wind-driven storm surge could combine to cause several feet of water to flow onto streets in coastal parts of Boston and up and down the shoreline, government and private weather forecasters warned. High winds of up to 75 miles per hour (120 kmph) could also bring extensive power outages.
‘People need to take this very seriously. If you live in an area that is told to evacuate, we strongly encourage you do so first thing Friday morning,’ Baker said on Thursday.
A National Guard vehicle brings emergency workers to residents trapped by flood waters on Friday in Quincy, Massachusetts
A flooded shed and home due to a strong coastal storm are seen on Friday in Quincy, Massachusetts
The 42-foot fishing vessel Artemis rests on the breakwater near Provincetown Inn after breaking from its mooring on Friday in Provincetown, Massachusetts. A relentless nor’easter pounded the Atlantic coast with hurricane-force winds
Passengers wait for SEPTA regional rail trains, most of which were suspended, in Philadelphia’s Jefferson Station on Friday
Air travelers stand at the check in counter during a winter nor’easter at LaGuardia Airport in New York on Friday
Walking past Independence Hall, a woman braves the snow and wind along Market Street in Philadelphia on Friday
Streets department workers in Marple Township, Pennsylvania clear a downed tree during a winter storm on Friday
Workmen in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, repair wires from a downed line that fell on a pick-up truck
A tree crashed through the metal fencing which surrounds Vice President Mike Pence’s Washington DC residence
In Washington DC, rubble fell from a partially burned building. The strong wind rattled the already fragile house and sent bricks bearing down onto the street and a car outside
In Winchester, Virginia, a child rides their bike beneath a downed tree on Friday
Toppled power lines on the road in Watertown, Boston, on Friday. Police are advising residents not to go outdoors until the storm passes
A Boston resident kayaks through the streets on Friday past an abandoned car in the midst of Winter Storm Riley
In Essex, Massachusetts, there was rising flood water on Friday as a result of the storm
Rocky waters in Stone Harbor, New Jersey, shifted the dock on Friday afternoon
Tourists battle the wind in Times Square on Friday. New York City endured gusty winds, rain and snow
A truck trailer toppled over on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge between Staten Island and New York. No one was injured
In Scituate, a Massachusetts town near Boston, water rushes through the streets at high tide as Winter Storm Riley takes hold on Friday, March 2
Press tents outside the White House toppled in the wind on Friday. No one was hurt
The National Weather Service had coastal flood watches and warnings in place from southern Maine through coastal North Carolina, including New York’s eastern suburbs, and also warned that a snowstorm heading east from the Ohio Valley could drop significant amounts of snow in northern New York State.
Ocean-facing homes could be destroyed by the storm surge and waves, while people who live in neighborhoods reached by low-lying roads could be cut off from services for hours or days, officials and government forecasters warned.
‘This could be another storm with prolonged onshore flooding,’ said Paul Walker, a senior meteorologist with private forecasting services Accuweather.
Voluntary evacuation orders are in place across coastal Massachusetts.
The tracks at Hoboken train station in New Jersey had flooded on Friday morning as a result of the sudden and torrential rain
A motorist eases out onto the flooded street in Broad Channel, Queens, on Friday afternoon