Powerful nor’easter causes coastal flooding, power outages in Northeast

BOSTON (AP) — A powerful, slow-moving storm crept along the northeastern U.S. coast Saturday, producing strong winds that caused power outages while whipping up large waves and heavy rain that created dangerous conditions.

The New York City Housing Authority said one of its employees was killed by a falling tree in Brooklyn, as the storm battered the city with rain and high winds. Emergency crews in the Mid-Atlantic and New England states raced to restore power after downed trees contributed to outages for about 100,000 customers in the region.

Tens of millions of people remained in the Northeast Passage on Sunday, and significant flooding is forecast in some coastal areas. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said response coordination centers in affected regions were operating in an “enhanced posture” and crews were on standby in New England in case of widespread outages.

Forecasts predicted no immediate respite. There will be “a lot of high winds, a lot of high tides and heavy rain possible over the next few days across the northeastern United States,” said Bob Oravec, chief forecaster for the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland.

The highest tides were likely to occur north of Atlantic City, New Jersey, from Saturday evening through Sunday, creating a risk of widespread road flooding in coastal and bayside communities, the National Weather Service said.

“Anyone who goes in or near the water this weekend is literally gambling with their life,” said New York Governor Kathy Hochul.

High waters invade roads and businesses

In New Jersey and New York, some people paddled down flooded streets in kayaks. Others headed to beaches to try to surf waves higher than usual.

In the coastal neighborhood of Surf City, New Jersey, Kenny Formica sat at home and watched surveillance cameras showing water rising inside the marina he owns. Water getting inside the building is rare, Formica said. The last time he remembers this happening was during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, which he estimates caused more than $4 million in damage to his business.

Before the storm, workers secured dock moorings, moved loose items and equipment out of harm’s way and parked marina trucks and forklifts at the highest point on the property.

Formica said he woke up to messages from customers reporting missing boats and jet skis. A customer sent him a video around 4 a.m. showing his 25-foot boat after it exploded from his lift.

“It’s like an 8,000-pound boat and, you know, a $150,000 boat that just disappeared,” Formica said.

In Ocean City, Maryland, strong waves caused beach erosion and washed away dune fences.

“In all the canals, the water is rising very high and coming into people’s yards,” Jay Boyd said by phone.

Further south, in Norfolk, Virginia, Ellie Hodge watched from her front porch as passing vehicles on the left woke up. The coastal town has seen isolated flooding all week from the northeast.

“We saw cars getting stuck on the road, going on the sidewalks,” Hodge said. “It was pretty bad this time.”

Flights, concerts and sporting events canceled

The storm forced many people to change their plans. Hundreds of flights were canceled at Boston Logan International Airport, as were the vast majority of flights to popular Massachusetts tourist destinations Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.

The Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs — both preparing for the postseason during the final weekend of the regular season — shuffled the schedule for their three-game series, playing a doubleheader Friday in Boston to try to stave off the storm. Then the league postponed its Sunday finale to be played in Florida, at the home of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Ed Sheeran canceled his high-profile concerts Friday and Saturday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Also canceled: an Ironman triathlon in New York and the three-day Oceans Calling festival in Ocean City, Maryland, which had been billed online as “a wave of music.”

Further south, a flood-related highway closure on North Carolina’s Hatteras Island scrambled Jayden Sink and Kimberly Laprad’s wedding plans. The Virginia couple arrived on the island before the storm, but most of their approximately 45 guests were stranded on the other side of the closure, the Island Free Press reported.

A local campground provided a new venue, cabins and a celebrant, and a DJ volunteered to provide the music. Organizers invited everyone on the island to come and celebrate with the couple on Saturday afternoon.

The road to the island remained closed and a ferry was also out of service, leaving boat travel in bad weather as the only option, said Drew Pearson, emergency management director for Dare County in North Carolina. The island has an annual population of about 5,000, which increases much more in warm weather, he said.

“To the people of Hatteras, you are not alone on an island,” Gov. Josh Stein said in a social media post. “North Carolina and county emergency responders are working hard to keep you safe and reconnected as quickly as possible.”

Authorities urge caution

Northeast winds are not unusual as fall approaches in New England, but “it might be a little earlier than average for a big storm,” said Oravec, of the National Weather Service.

The slow movement of the storm could worsen beach erosion by subjecting the coast to a prolonged period of strong winds and waves, he said.

Officials in the east coast state urged people to exercise caution. Hochul said coastal flooding posed the greatest threat, but heavy rain, powerful winds and waves of up to 6 meters were also expected.

On Long Island, ferry owner Stephanie Sherman suspended operations between Patchogue and the barrier island of Fire Island.

“It was a pretty bad storm,” Sherman said. “But nothing we haven’t experienced in the past. It happens from time to time.”

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Lieb reported from Jefferson City, Missouri. Associated Press writers Allen G. Breed in Norfolk, Virginia; Kim Chandler in Montgomery, Ala.; Annika Hammerschlag in Seattle; and Sarah Rankin in Richmond, Virginia, contributed.