Tropical Storm Isaias continued to wreak havoc up the East Coast on Tuesday morning as it ripped through Virginia with heavy winds and torrential rains and set its destructive path toward the Northeast.
The storm had already brought twisters to North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland on Monday, and on Tuesday did the same in Delaware and New Jersey and again in Maryland. About 33 million people from Virginia to New York were under tornado watches.
By midday Tuesday, more than 784,000 people were without power in New Jersey.
“This storm is escalating quickly and the numbers are rapidly changing. We are in touch with all major utilities, which are working to restore power ASAP,” Gov. Phil Murphy wrote on Twitter.
Murphy had declared a state of emergency starting at 5 a.m. Tuesday and told residents to stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary.
Coastal areas from Virginia to New England were at risk of flash flooding, strong winds and widespread power outages, according to the weather service.
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New York could expect the highest winds since Hurricane Sandy flattened coastal areas there in 2012, NBC New York reported.
While Isaias had been downgraded to a tropical storm, Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned New Yorkers to prepare for “hurricane-like conditions” throughout Tuesday.
“I have directed our state agencies to deploy emergency assets to problematic areas to assist our local partners, and I am asking New Yorkers to be diligent and stay ready in case the storm intensifies on Tuesday,” Cuomo said.
Beaches in New York City were closed Tuesday. Storm surges of up to 2 feet were forecast, and Mayor Bill de Blasio warned that a tornado could whip through the city, although such an occurrence is rare.
A man in his 60s, parked inside a van in the Briarwood section of Queens, was killed when a tree fell on the vehicle at about 2 p.m. ET, the NYPD said.
And by late Tuesday afternoon, more than 108,000 homes and businesses were without power in New York City and another 65,000-plus customers were in the dark just to the north in Westchester County, according to Consolidated Edison.
In North Carolina, where Isaias made landfall as an 85 mph Category 1 hurricane late Monday night near Ocean Isle Beach, a tornado struck a mobile home park in Bertie County, killing two people and wiping out all but two trailers, according to officials.
Twelve people were injured, and rescues were still underway Tuesday afternoon.
More than 130,000 homes and businesses were without power across North Carolina by late Tuesday afternoon, according to the tracking site PowerOutage.us. There were nearly 375,000 power outages in the state at the height of the storm, the North Carolina Emergency Management department said.
In Wilmington, North Carolina, recorded a storm surge of around 5.5 feet, higher than Hurricanes Hazel, Matthew and Florence.
Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo said late Monday the city had seen high winds and a number of power outages, but the extent of the damage won’t be known until the storm passes and crews can complete assessments. He said flooding reached 3 feet in some places, and four homes in one area of Ocean Isle Beach caught fire.
In Virginia, a tornado in Lancaster County left two people injured, while another damaged house roofs in Suffolk, according to the National Weather Service.
In Norfolk, the First Baptist Church was heavily damaged, according to NBC affiliate WAVE, but no injuries were reported. A pastor at the church had posted prayers on the congregation’s blog in anticipation of the storm.
