A powerful storm off the coasts of Northwest US and western Canada is battering the region with strong winds, heavy flooding, and snow, affecting over seven million residents in states along the Pacific Ocean.
The storm has knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of Americans, with its intense winds toppling trees. Tragically, at least one person—a woman near Seattle—has lost her life.
Forecasters describe the event as a “bomb cyclone,” triggered by a rapid drop in air pressure off the coast, which has significantly intensified the storm system.
The effects of the storm were seen on Wednesday morning, with fallen trees damaging homes and blocking roadways in Washington state.
A woman died when a tree fell on a homeless encampment in Lynwood, north of Seattle, Washington, according to a social media post from South County Fire Department.
High winds are leading to power cuts. On Wednesday morning, more than 600,000 homes in Washington were without power, according to poweroutage.us. Around 15,000 customers were experiencing outages in California.
Several schools in Washington are expected to close or face disruption.
“It’s severe out there. Trees are coming down all over the city, with multiple falling onto homes,” Washington’s Bellevue Fire Department wrote in a social media post. “If you are able, head to the lowest floor you can and stay away from windows. Do not go outside if you can avoid it.”
In northern California, the US Weather Prediction Center (WPC) said there was a high risk of excessive rainfall and warned of flash flooding and mudslides. The San Francisco Bay is expected to see up to 8in (20cm) of rain.
The storm has also stretched up to Canada, where wind is the primary concern and gusts of up to 100mph (160km/h) have been reported off the coast of Vancouver Island. Around 140,000 customers were without power in British Columbia, according to the British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority.
