Nor’easter Brings Flooding, Outages and Festival Cancellation

A powerful, slow-moving nor’easter is bringing heavy rain, strong winds, dangerous surf and coastal flooding along the East Coast, with impacts expected through Sunday. On North Carolina’s Outer Banks, overwash breached a dune at Pea Island and damaged or undermined about 500 feet of NC 12 near Rodanthe, closing the road with no reopening estimate; ferry services in Virginia and to Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard were also disrupted. In the Northeast, coastal flooding has affected low-lying New York City roads, thousands of customers have lost power across Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, and a downed power line forced the westbound closure of the Route 37 bridge over Barnegat Bay. States of emergency or emergency measures are in effect in New York City, Long Island and eight New Jersey counties, while officials warn of further flooding, beach erosion and travel disruptions around high tides; coastal gusts in Massachusetts could exceed 60 mph. The storm has postponed an AC/DC concert at MetLife Stadium and led organizers to cancel the three-day Oceans Calling Festival in Ocean City, Maryland. Officials have urged people to avoid rough shorelines, heed local warnings and check road conditions.