Power Outage, Weather | featured news

After pounding the Carolinas Saturday morning, Hurricane Irene churned up the Eastern Seaboard Saturday night with a fury that left at least eight people dead and 1.4 million homes and businesses without power.

New York became the latest state to declare a state of emergency in a scramble to get ahead of Hurricane Irene as the storm prepares to make a potentially deadly drive up the East Coast. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's declaration Thursday follows those of Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley. North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue - whose state is projected to take the first hit Saturday when Hurricane Irene makes landfall in the U.S. - limited her declaration to counties east of Interstate 95.

Virginia officials warned residents on Thursday to prepare for massive power outages, flooding and damage from Hurricane Irene comparable to that of Hurricane Isabel, which knocked out power to about 2 million people as it tore through the state in 2003.

Alabama is the latest state to suffer from a widespread southern storm system as early morning thunderstorms packing tornadoes and high winds snapped trees, cut off power and left people trapped in home and vehicles.

Workers clean up after Hurricane Igor battered Canada's Newfoundland and Labrador province causing flooding and power outages.

Wet, heavy snow that canceled flights, snapped tree branches and left thousands of people in the Denver area without power also closes dozens of schools.

Typhoon Melor was gathering strength as it traveled along Japan's southern coast with sustained winds of about 100 miles per hour, causing power outages and disrupting air and train travel.