For the second time this year the north-eastern United States has been hit by heavy storms. For almost 24 hours, the states of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut have been lashed by high winds and torrential rain. Earlier this year, severe snowstorms brought much of the area to a standstill for several days.

Hundreds of thousand of people have been left without electrical power after several pylons were blown down. Air traffic in the region has been severely affected, with many flights either subject to long delays or cancellation. Nearly all train travel between the cities of New York and Philadelphia has stopped, while in New York itself several subway lines have been closed. In New Jersey, two people were killed by a falling tree.

Further north in Canada, alpine events in the Winter Paralympics being held near Vancouver have been cancelled due to heavy snowfall.