New York and New Jersey declare states of emergency, bracing for flooding and outages from nor’easter

NEW YORK, Sept 25 (Reuters) – A strong nor’easter is expected to bring flooding, powerful wind gusts, heavy rain and rip currents to areas along the East Coast from Maine to Washington, D.C., over the weekend. Upcoming shows in New York City and Massachusetts where Ed Sheeran, Alicia Keys and Lenny Kravitz were scheduled to perform before tens of thousands of attendees were canceled due to weather.

The governors of New York and New Jersey declared states of emergency in counties expected to see the worst of the storm, including New York City.

“Take this storm seriously,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said on X.

• The Federal Aviation Administration said on Friday that flights at all three major New York City-area airports could be disrupted by strong winds.

• American Airlines, JetBlue and United Airlines waived change fees for eligible flights, encouraging customers to postpone travel between Friday and Sunday in the Northeast.

• The National Weather Service said winds of up to 55 miles per hour (88.5 km/h) in some areas could make driving difficult.

• New York City officials warned of possible basement flooding, power outages and travel disruptions.

• US passenger railroad Amtrak warned that service could be disrupted in the Northeast because of the storm.

• The open-air Global Citizen Festival in Manhattan’s Central Park, scheduled for Saturday, and Ed Sheeran’s concerts near Boston on Friday and Saturday, both expected to draw more than 50,000 attendees, were canceled.

• Major League Baseball rescheduled Sunday’s game in Boston between the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox for Friday, with the teams now playing a doubleheader at Fenway Park. The New York Yankees moved their Saturday home game against the Baltimore Orioles up to Friday afternoon.

• As the UN General Assembly wraps up, among those scheduled to address the world body this weekend are China’s vice president and the foreign ministers of Canada, Germany, India and Russia. “The UN has always endured, and surmounted, stormy weather both outside and inside the building,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said when asked about the impending storm.

(Reporting by Maria Tsvetkova, Michelle Nichols an Joey Ax in New York; Editing by Donna Bryson, Bill Berkrot and Mark Porter)