Zohran Mamdani told New York City residents not to travel unless they had to as a powerful nor'easter flooded low-lying shore areas, cut power to more than 160,000 households and disrupted travel across the north-eastern US on Saturday. He also warned people not to drive or walk through floodwater.
The US National Weather Service said the storm brought dangerous coastal flooding and beach conditions, strong winds and heavy rainfall to New York City and Boston. More than 2,400 flights were delayed and another 1,199 were grounded, while a man was killed by a falling tree in Brooklyn.
Surf City and Manasquan flooding
Streets and homes were inundated with floodwater in Surf City and Manasquan, where the NWS warned of significant inundation in low-lying areas near the shore. Its alert called for immediate preparation for roads underwater and impacts to homes and businesses.
Officials in New York warned of wind gusts of up to 55mph, or 86km/h, throughout the weekend. States of emergency were declared in New York and New Jersey as the storm moved through the region.
Travel and event cancellations
The storm also forced cancellations and schedule changes. The Red Sox moved the last game in their series against the Chicago Cubs to Sunday afternoon in Florida, a professional football match between Red Bull New York and St Louis City SC was cancelled, and the Global Citizen Festival concert in Central Park will not go ahead.
Ed Sheeran's Boston concert was also called off because of the weather. With a full moon projected to worsen coastal flooding, the immediate concern remains how long shore flooding and power cuts will continue for residents who are already dealing with flooded roads, outages and travel disruption.
