New York: More than 100,000 New Yorkers woke up on Christmas morning without electricity after a powerful storm lashed the northeast of the United States overnight.
Westchester, Rockland, Ulster, Orange and Dutchess counties were particularly hard hit, with 73,926 outages reported between the five of them as of 10 a.m. on Friday, according to PowerOutage.US, a service that tracks electricity disruptions nationwide, Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.
New York City fared much better with less than 17,000 outages reported across the five boroughs. Staten Island made up the bulk of the Big Apple’s outages, with some 3,500 reported disruptions, according to ConEd.
ConEd, which supplies electricity for the city and most parts of Westchester, urged customers to report outages for faster service resumption. The company also warned customers against touching or attempting to move downed electrical wires.
Fuelled by heavy rain and winds of up to 65 miles (105 km) per hour, the Christmas storm also knocked out power for more than 49,000 New Jersey residents. Across the northeast, more than 275,000 customers lost power, according to PowerOutage.US.
The New York State Governor’s Office said the state deployed rescue teams to strategic locations across the state in advance. The teams stocked up on water pumps, power generators and even blankets and pillows in case of emergency.
“Everything is being done to prepare for any potential impacts and the state stands ready to support any of our local partners who may need assistance,” Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a statement.
“In the meantime, I urge everyone to celebrate smart and use caution if travelling over the next 48 hours,” he added.
