Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses are without electricity in the northwestern United States Saturday after a severe windstorm tore through the Pacific Northwest.
The storm hit the region early Friday, bringing winds of up to 113 kilometers-an-hour and beyond. Wind gusts of 111 kilometers-an-hour were recorded at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Washington state, breaking a record set in 1993. The storm disrupted air and train service, and forced officials to shut down key bridges and roads in both Washington state and neighboring Oregon.
About 700,000 people in the Seattle area are without power, while another 350,000 people are in the dark in Oregon, to the south. At least six people have been killed, including a 41-year-old woman who drowned when the basement of her Seattle home flooded.
Several other people died when falling trees hit their homes or cars.
Officials in Washington state say this storm could exceed the 130 million dollars in damages caused by the so-called "Inauguration Day" storm in 1993, which occurred on the same day Bill Clinton was sworn in for his first presidential term.
Some information for this report provided by AP.
