Boston dan New England Dilanda Badai Salju Setebal Satu Meter
Blizzard Hits Boston and New England, Spares New York Despite Forecasts
Editor : Ismail Gani
Translator : Novita Cahyadi
Boston/New York (B2B) - Badai salju kuat melanda Boston dan kawasan-kawasan sekitar New England Selasa, menyebabkan sekitar 4,5 juta orang berkutat dengan salju setebal tiga kaki dan banjir di pesisir tetapi mengecualikan warga New York City yang telah memperkuat diri menghadapi cuaca buruk besar.
Salju diprediksi akan turun hingga Rabu di bagian timur New England, barangkali akan tercatat terberat di Boston. Di Bandar Udara Internasional Logan, salju setebal 23,3 inci (59,2 sentimeter) di landasan malam hari dan angin bertiup kuat.
"Salju setebal empat, lima dan enam kaki di beberapa tempat," kata Gubernur Massachusetts Charlie Baker. "Ini badai paling besar bagi sebagian besar Massachusetts."
Larangan perjalanan di seluruh pelosok negara bagian dijadwalkan dicabut tengah malam tetapi warga Massachusetts didesak menghindari jalan bersalju tebal jika memungkinkan, seperti dilansir Yahoo News.
Kereta-kereta api, bus dan kereta bawah tanah di Boston dijadwalkan beroperasi normal Rabu tetapi penangguhan diramalkan bagi alat transportasi pagi hari.
Pulau wisata Nantucket khususnya terkena dampak paling parah karena sebagian rumah dan bisnis tak mendapat pasokan arus listrik, kata gubernur itu.
Banjir es menutup kawasan kota pulau itu, sejumlah jalan ditutup dan layanan dengan feri dan pesawat terbang dibatalkan, menurut laporan-laporan media lokal.
Banjir akibat badai di pesisir juga melanda kawasan-kawasan rendah di bagian selatan Boston.
Gelombang tinggi merusak penghalang di Marshfield, sekitar 50 kilometer selatan Boston. Polisi mengatakan banyak rumah rusak dan para penghuninya diminta mengungsi.
Denise Gorham, 57 tahun, mengatakan ia menyaksikan penutup pintu dari kayu dan jendela alat pengatur suhu terapung di air yang mengepung rumahnya setelah bencana itu.
"Menakutkan. Saya sudah tinggal di sini selama 12 tahun dan kami terbiasa dengan tiap badai. Banjir seperti samudera di jalan raya," kata Gorham, seorang penulis, yang berusaha membuat hangat ruangnya dengan perapian setelah listrik padam.
Ke sebelah selatan, New York, New Jersey dan Connecticut lolos dari badai terburuk kendati para petugas dan pakar meteorologi memprediksi badai buruk bisa datang.
Larangan-larangan perjalanan di negara-negara bagian tersebut dicabut, dan sistem kereta api bawah tanah di New York City telah dimulai kembali setelah ditutup selama 10 jam.
Boston/New York - A powerful blizzard struck Boston and surrounding New England on Tuesday, leaving some 4.5 million people grappling with as much as three feet of snow and coastal flooding but sparing New York City residents who had braced for a significant blast.
Snow was forecast to keep falling into early Wednesday in eastern New England, possibly setting a record snowfall in Boston. At Logan International Airport, 23.3 inches (59.2 cm) of snow was on the ground early evening, swept higher in parts by strong winds.
"There are drifts now of four, five and six feet in some places," Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker said. "This is clearly a very big storm for most of Massachusetts."
A statewide travel ban was scheduled to be lifted at midnight but Massachusetts residents were urged to stay off the roads if possible.
Boston-area trains, buses and subways were set to resume normal service on Wednesday but delays were predicted for the morning commute.
On the resort island of Nantucket, more than half of homes and businesses were still without power at early evening, and crews working to restore electricity were at times getting stuck on roads throughout the day, Police Chief William Pittman said.
Icy flooding closed the island´s downtown waterfront, white-out conditions forced some roads to be shut down and ferry and plane service was cancelled, according to local reports.
Storm-driven coastal flooding added to the state´s woes, as low-lying towns south of Boston grappled with rising water.
High tides breached a seawall in Marshfield, about 30 miles (50 km) south of Boston, damaging 11 homes, several of which were condemned, police said. Police urged residents to evacuate.
Denise Gorham, 57, said she watched a heavy wooden shed filled with window air conditioners float away on waters that surrounded the house after the breach.
"It´s been horrible. I´ve been here 12 years and we´ve weathered every single storm. It was just like the ocean was on the street itself," said Gorham, a writer, who was trying to keep warm over her fireplace after the power went out.
Further south, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut escaped the worst of the storm, despite dire predictions by meteorologists and officials.
Travel bans in those states were lifted, and New York City´s subway system was restarted after being closed for 10 hours.
