Kiwis in northeast US braced for megastorm

Rebecca Yarranton (right) and Kayla Jans, of Cambridge, cancelled their tourist activities.

New Zealanders in New York hunker down as city grinds to halt before wild weather.

Kiwis in New York and up the east coast of the United States were last night hunkering down as one of the biggest storms in history bore down on the region.

Justine Bone said she was holed up in her mid-town Manhattan apartment "in the thick of it" overlooking a deserted 10th Avenue.

"It's a commuter street and it's normally bumper to bumper but there are no cars and not many people walking around."

Forecasters were predicting a 90cm snow dump in New York and Boston, driven by winds of up to 90km/h, while 3m high waves were expected to batter the coast.

Watch: Massive blizzard to hit New York

A state of emergency had been declared in several areas while flights were cancelled and public transport brought to a halt as people were warned out of the cities. Schools remained closed and many streets were in lock-down to all except emergency services.

Ms Bone, originally from Christchurch and who has been back in New York for two years working as an information security executive, said last night there were "eerily quiet" scenes across the city which was blanketed in snow by mid-afternoon.

Former Aucklander Kyle Hughes had a back-up generator and extra food and water on hand at his New Jersey home.

Workers like Mr Hughes, 37, a director at Citibank in Manhattan, had been warned to stay out of the city yesterday by authorities. He and wife Melanie and their three young children were last night waiting for the storm to strike. He said anyone caught driving after the 11pm curfew would be arrested.

Subway trains in Manhattan would be suspended while the Port Authority Trans-Hudson rail had also been scaled back.

A woman crosses a mostly empty 42nd Street in Times Square, New York. Photo / AP

Maria Hoera-Liquori, an insurance worker who moved to the States 14 years ago, was sent home from work early on Long Island.

Mrs Hoera-Liquori, originally from Opotiki, said there had been panic grocery buying and many supermarkets were running low.

Cambridge woman Rebecca Yarranton and her friend Kayla Jans were forced to cancel their tourist activities because of the storm. The 21-year-olds, who were on a two-week holiday in the Big Apple, said it was unlikely their bus tour would operate today and a Knicks baseball game they had tickets to was called off.

The pair, who were staying in mid-town Manhattan, said the storm was causing chaos.

"All of the supermarkets were really full. Everyone was rushing to the subways because all transport is banned after 11pm tonight.

"There are people shovelling the roads already and there are a lot of police out. We have been advised to stay inside after 6pm."

Former Hamilton man Tim Dennehy said authorities had enforced many of the same travel restrictions in Boston, where he worked in IT purchasing for a large mutual fund company.

At his home in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, Mr Dennehy and his family were prepared for possible power outages and food shortages.