New York mayor Mamdani orders citywide travel ban as major storm hits US

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Sunday ordered the shutdown of the citys entire traffic network for all but emergency travel as a massive snowstorm began to hit the northeast United StatesTens of millions of Americans from the US capital Washington to the northern state of Maine prepared for up to two feet 60 centimeters of snow forecast in some areasThe National Weather Service NWS said blizzard conditions would quickly materialize from Maryland up to southeastern New England making travel extremely treacherousSnow could fall at a rate of two to three inches per hour at the peak of the storm with nearly 54 million people in its path it saidOn Sunday evening the storm had already begun to hit New York slashing visibility to the extent that the skyscrapers of Wall Street were barely visible from the adjacent borough of BrooklynPower outages are likely due to heavy snow and strong wind gusts forecasters said As of 730 pm local time 0030 GMT at least 22895 customers were without power in the state of New Jersey according to tracking website poweroutageusIn New York which has more than eight million people Mamdani said streets highways and bridges would be shut down from 900 pm Sunday until noon MondayNew York City has not faced a storm of this scale in the last decade he said explaining the state of emergency We are asking New Yorkers to avoid all nonessential travelThe ban will not apply to essential workers or New Yorkers needing to travel due to emergenciesBrooklyn resident Brandon Smith 33 complained that workplaces remained open even if the roads were notIts gonna be difficult for most New Yorkers to get around because we still have to go to work Its unfortunate roads are suspended as jobs are not gonna stop calling us in he saidThe NWS warned heavy snow high winds and low visibility were expected to cause dangerous to impossible travel conditionsGusts of up to 60 miles 100 kilometers per hour were expected late Sunday and into Monday the NWS saidWorst yet to comeNew Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill declared a state of emergency beginning midday Sunday freeing up funds and allowing the swift deployment of resources to address the weather crisisIn Boston Mayor Michelle Wu closed all public schools and municipal buildings on MondayWe ask everyone to plan ahead stay safe and warm and stay off the roads to help our public works and public safety efforts Wu saidThe NWS said moderate to major coastal flooding affecting waterfront roads and properties was possible from Delaware up to Cape Cod in MassachusettsThe storm comes just weeks after the region recovered from another devastating winter weather system that was linked to more than 100 deathsThe worst is yet to come New York Governor Kathy Hochul told a press briefing SundayWhatever you need any groceries any medicines you need to be refilled at the pharmacy any pet food you need to have do it right nowThen she advised just settle inWatch some more Olympics read a book catch up on the news call your family members call your moms especially your momsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever