US Blizzard: Warnings Of Flash Flooding

A major clear-up is under way after a blizzard battered the northeast US.

People in New England began the job of digging out from as much as a metre of snow, while emergency crews used snowmobiles to reach shivering motorists stranded overnight in New York's Long Island.

Many now fear heavy flooding when the snow begins to melt, and some residents in Massachusetts are being told to evacuate their homes. In the town of Hull, a mandatory evacuation order for coastal areas was issued.

At least eight deaths have been were blamed on the storm, including three in Canada.

About 475,000 homes and businesses were still without power late on Saturday night.

Roads across the New York to Boston corridor of roughly 25 million people were impassable, while many cars remained stuck in drifts.

The snow was so deep that some people could not open their front doors.

"It's like lifting cement," said Michael Levesque, from Quincy, Massachusetts. "They say it's two feet, but I think it's more like three feet."

One of the reported deaths was of an 11-year-old boy in Boston, who was overcome by carbon monoxide as he sat in a running car to keep warm while his father shovelled snow.

Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee said that while the snow had stopped, the danger had not passed.

"People need to take this storm seriously, even after it's over. If you have any kind of heart condition, be careful with the shoveling."

However, the storm was not as bad as some of the forecasts led many to fear.

In New York, around 30cm of snow was recorded in Central Park. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the city had "dodged a bullet".