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Storm batters Northeast, cuts power to 1M in New England, NYC area

By Ed Adamczyk

Oct. 30 (UPI) -- Heavy winds and flash flooding struck the New York City and New England areas, leaving over a million homes without power on the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Sandy's arrival.

Areas of Rhode Island and Connecticut saw wind gusts of 70 mph or more Sunday. Conimicut Light, a lighthouse in Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay, reported an 81 mph gust, NBC News reported Monday.

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Downed trees and power lines left thousands in the dark and more than one million customers without electricity at the storm's height. Utility companies reported early Monday that at least 591,000 customers were without power -- 162,000 in Connecticut, 160,000 in New Hampshire, 63,000 in New York, 59,000 in Massachusetts and 57,000 in Maine.

The storm that rattled the Northeast came from the remnants of Tropical Storm Phillippe, which came northward up the East Coast over the weekend. It merged with a low pressure system traveling eastward from the Great Lakes, and pelted Pennsylvania and New Jersey, meteorologists said.

The weakening storm is expected to enter the Atlantic Ocean on Monday and could affect Quebec by Tuesday.

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Boston's Logan Airport canceled several flights, and New York city-area airports advised travelers to check with carriers to learn about flight disruptions. At least 5 percent of flights from New York City's three major airports -- Newark, JFK International and LaGuardia -- were canceled.

The Long Island Railroad, which travels east-west across 140 miles of the New York City area island, suspended rail service in both directions due to downed power lines on the tracks.

The storm came on the fifth anniversary of the arrival of Superstorm Sandy to the New York City area. The storm broached the Northeast shores on Oct. 29, 2012, led to the deaths of 182 people and caused over $71 billion in damage.

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