A storm that hit the Atlantic coast of the United States with hurricane-intensity wind gusts on Wednesday left more than half a million homes and businesses without power in New England and forced the closure of bridges, ferries and schools in the region.
Utility workers were working to restore electricity once the winds and rain, which spread to Nova Scotia, Canada, subsided for the day. Restoring service in the hardest hit areas in southeastern Massachusetts will take days, the Eversource company told the Cape Cod Times.
The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency reported about 425,000 blackouts after winds knocked tree limbs over power lines.
Utility companies reported about 90,000 users without service in Rhode Island, 17,000 in Maine, 15,000 in Connecticut, and 6,000 in New Hampshire.
Authorities recommended refraining from traveling in southeastern Massachusetts due to wind and falling trees and power lines. At New Bedford Airport, the wind carried a small plane over the other side of a fence.
The strongest gusts – 151 kilometers per hour (94 mph) – were recorded at a ferry dock on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, officials said.
Dozens of schools canceled classes.
In Connecticut, power lines fell onto a school bus heading to Middletown High School. No injuries were reported. Six students were on the bus, which continued on after emergency workers removed the cables.
In Rhode Island, authorities closed the Newport Pell and Jamestown Verrazzano bridges amid gusts of up to 70 mph (112 kilometers per hour) Wednesday morning, and later reopened for most vehicles. School buses were not allowed through until Wednesday afternoon.
Ferry service to Martha’s Vineyard and the island of Nantucket was suspended Wednesday.
One driver was killed and another injured when a tree branch fell on two moving vehicles in the Morris Township community in northern New Jersey, authorities said.
Meanwhile, the body of a kayaker who disappeared off Long Island, New York, was recovered near the Bronx after being detected in the water by a search helicopter, the Coast Guard said Tuesday.
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