Massive outages reported as snowstorm hits US

Hundreds of thousands of power outages were reported on Tuesday as a snowstorm lashed multiple states in northeastern US.

Power outages took place in New York, Pennsylvania, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont due to the heavy snow, Xinhua news agency reported.

In New York State, more than 195,000 people were reported without power on Tuesday, according to the local government.

Upstate regions in New York recorded six to 11 inches (about 15-28 cm) of snowfall overnight, and the storm dumped wet and heavy snow that brought trees, branches and power lines down, said a release by the New York State government on Tuesday.

It added that an emergency operations center in the state was activated to coordinate requests for assistance from local governments.

Binghamton of New York reported as much as 15 inches (about 38 cm) of snow, and a travel ban was imposed in Broome County due to downed trees and lack of power.

"I encourage people living in impacted areas to make a plan for the next two to three days," said New York Governor Kathy Hochul.

In Pennsylvania, about 46,000 people were without power, and several vehicle accidents were reported due to the storm.

No casualties from the storm have been reported so far.