By The Epoch Times | Created at 2026-09-27 21:01:47 | Updated at 2026-09-27 21:38:42
1 hour ago
Several feet of floodwater overwhelmed beaches and river banks, consuming entire streets and invading countless pieces of property in coastal communities from Maine to North Carolina this weekend as a deadly nor’easter laid siege to New England and a vast majority of the Northeastern United States.
Initial damage reports released by the National Weather Service (NWS) reported coastal flood damage stretching from Massachusetts Bay through Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
Major roadways were under two feet of water across Long Island from Queens to Hampton Bays. Parts of Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, including Westbrook, Misquamicut State Beach, Martha’s Vineyard, and Boston, also reported flooding. Vessels in Hull Harbor, Massachusetts, were pulled loose from their moorings.
Towns across the Jersey Shore also faced the tidal assaults. Multiple feet of floodwater were reported from Manasquan to Ocean City. The storm also delivered coastal surge that overwhelmed North Carolina’s barrier islands called the Outer Banks. State Highway 12 was shuttered, and the state’s Department of Transportation is currently working to reopen the main roadway and return residents to their homes.
Tropical storm-force wind gusts were also reported, with some areas recording gusts nearing 70 mph.
Initial reports indicated that those winds forced down trees and power lines from Cape May to the Gulf of Maine, and as far inland as Chesterfield, Massachusetts.
One death directly related to this storm was confirmed. A New York City housing authority worker died due to a fallen tree.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani issued a short statement in memory of the City’s fallen worker, who he identified as Leighton Brown.
“My thoughts are with his entire family as they deal with this unimaginable loss,” he said. “May he rest in peace, and may his service to our city never be forgotten.”
New York City’s emergency management reported 500 downed trees as of 9 a.m. ET on Sept. 27.
As of 2:30 p.m. ET, most of Massachusetts, all of Rhode Island, the coast of Connecticut, all of Long Island, and parts of New Jersey and Delaware remain under either a coastal flood warning or flood warning.
Emergency ferry service to the Outer Banks from the mainland is now being offered.
A majority of the ferry services between New Jersey and New York City have also resumed.
On the morning of Sept. 27, more than 130,000 utility customers across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic were reported to be without power, according to poweroutage.us. As of 2:45 p.m. ET, that number was down to just less than 76,000.
The New York Giants’ home game against the Tennessee Titans remained scheduled for Sept. 27 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
However, people in this part of the country are not clear of the storm yet.
The NWS forecast that while conditions will gradually ease into early next week, minor and moderate coastal flooding is still expected, along with rough surf, strong rip currents, and beach erosion. Wind gusts reaching 50 mph remained a possibility for New Jersey and Long Island through Sept. 27, and a slight risk of excessive rainfall over parts of southern New England through the morning of Sept. 28 remain in effect.
“The associated heavy rain will create mainly localized flash flooding, with urban areas, roads, small streams, and narrow canyons/gullies the most vulnerable,” the NWS warned, adding that it could cause isolated inland flooding further inland. “The heavy rain associated with the storm will slowly wane to a few showers over parts of Maine by Tuesday morning.”
New York City’s Emergency Management issued a statement on Sept. 27 warning its residents to remain cautious and vigilant when going outside.
“New Yorkers: the storm is still underway, and quiet stretches can give way to strong gusts at any moment,” it stated. “Winds are bringing down trees, loosening facades and scaffolding, and knocking down power lines across the city. If you’re outside, use caution in parks and anywhere with trees, keep clear of scaffolding, cranes, and construction sites, and stay far away from anything it touches, including cars, fences, and puddles.
“Never try to move a tree or branch that’s tangled in wires. Watch for loose signs, awnings, and debris blowing off buildings. Call 911 if there’s a life safety issue for trees and power lines. Hazards will remain after the storm ends, so continue to exercise caution when getting around.”
High surf and small craft advisories also remain in effect across the northeast, with the National Weather Service warning explicitly, “Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller vessels, should avoid navigating in hazardous conditions.”
Further offshore, Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas—one of the largest cruise ships in the world—faced 20-foot waves on its way back to port in Bayonne, New Jersey, to pick up its next group of passengers bound for The Bahamas.
Due to the storm’s persistence, the Boston Red Sox’s Sept. 26 match against the Chicago Cubs was moved from Fenway Park to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, and rescheduled for Sept. 27.
But even Florida felt some of the effects of this behemoth storm. The NWS office in Miami warned residents that the nor’easter was expected to deliver dangerous seas and high surf to South Florida, while the office in Jacksonville warned of minor flooding along the coast and the St. John’s River.
This nor’easter marks the first major storm event in the Atlantic this hurricane season. It is called a nor’easter due to the northeast direction from which it arrives, and they typically form between September and April.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Atlantic basin continues to experience a record-breaking calm thanks, in part, to the incredibly strong El Niño weather pattern. This year marks the first since the Satellite Era began in the 1960s that no named storm in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, or Gulf of America has reached hurricane status this late into the season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.
