“桑迪”颶風侵襲紐約市遭水淹，北美已14人死亡

The massive storm named Sandy has brought torrential rain, high winds and dangerous tidal surges to one of the nation's most densely populated regions and killing at least 14 people.

Sandy - with winds still reaching 120 kilometers per hour - came ashore Monday with hurricane-strength winds some 200 kilometers south of New York, bringing a storm surge of four meters to lower Manhattan. The usually bustling city was brought to a halt. More than 1 million people in the area of the nation's largest city are without power. More than 6 million homes and businesses along the U.S. east coast and farther inland are without power. The center of the storm moved inland early Tuesday.

A New Jersey nuclear power plant declared an alert after waters rose to a designated high-level mark. Officials said there were no safety concerns at the plant, which was shut off for maintenance.

The deaths were reported across the affected region, from the U.S. state of Maryland to the Canadian city of Toronto. Most of the fatalities resulted from falling trees or traffic accidents.

Tunnels and streets in low-lying areas of New York City were flooded, including the construction site where the World Trade Center once stood. Some residents were ordered to evacuate. Cars in low-lying areas have been seen floating down the streets.

Other U.S. cities along the Eastern seaboard, including Washington, were also at a standstill, with public transit systems suspended, airports closed.代號爲“桑迪”的猛烈風暴給美國人口最稠密的地區之一帶來狂風暴雨和危險的海潮，並在北美造成至少14人死亡。

“桑迪”的風速仍然高達每小時120公里。星期一，“桑迪”以大約每小時200公里的風速侵襲紐約市南面城區，下曼哈頓沿岸的海浪高達四米。平日繁忙的紐約陷於停頓狀態。在美國這座最大的城市，100多萬人失去電力供應。在美國東海岸及內陸地區，600多萬個家庭和企業斷電。星期二清晨，風暴中心開始向內陸方向移動。

由於水位上升到危險程度，新澤西州的一家核電廠宣佈進入警戒狀態。有關官員說，這座核電廠因爲維修而關閉，並不存在安全問題。

從美國的馬里蘭州到加拿大城市多倫多，都有人死於風暴的報道。大多數死亡是樹木倒伏或交通事故造成的。

紐約市低窪地區的隧道和街道遭到水淹，包括世界貿易中心遺址的建築工地。一些居民接到撤離命令。在一些低窪地區，可以看到汽車在街道上順水漂流。

包括首都華盛頓在內的美國東岸地區各城市陷入停頓，城市的公共交通系統停止運營，機場也關閉。