Nearly 1mn without power as snowstorms hit US

Nearly one million residents were left without power and in the cold as two nor'easters hit the northeastern United States in less than one week.

A nor'easter hit the upper half of the East Coast on Wednesday, bringing a lot of snow to the New England region, adding to the lingering snowfall from another nor'easter that descended on March 2, reports Xinhua news agency.

As a result of the extreme weather, nearly one million residents in the region have been left without power causing severe difficulties for those living in rural areas.

According to local media reports, 250,000 people in Massachusetts were without power as of Thursday afternoon.

"Please plan to be without power for multiple days as we work through this significant restoration," power provider Eversource tweeted, noting that hundreds of engineers have been dispatched to restore power.

In New Jersey, more than 320,000 power outages have been reported in homes and businesses across the state.

Approximately 46,000 people in New Hampshire were without power, with local providers predicting "days" before power can be restored.

In Pike county, Pennsylvania, thousands were left in the darkness since March 2.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the widespread blackout was "unacceptable", demanding power companies to step up efforts.

Other states that have been hit hard by the storm include Maine, Vermont and Rhode Island, each with tens of thousands without power and in some cases cut off by heavy snow.

The weather has taken a heavy toll on regional traffic as well. As of Wednesday afternoon, New Jersey police have responded to 356 crashes.

On Wednesday more than 2,700 flights were cancelled, and another 2,400 delayed, according to flight tracker FlightAware.

Amtrak, which operates most passenger trains in the northwest, also had to reschedule its trains, suspending traffic on some lines altogether.

Another nor'easter is expected to hit the East Coast on March 12.

--IANS

ksk/bg