NYC hit with worst blizzard in a decade as Mayor hikes snow-shovelling wage while city awaits up to 20 inches

Forecasters are warning that the north-east US and some of the eastern Canadian provinces will face severe disruption, with states of emergency declared across the region.

The storm has seen 59 million people placed under weather warnings in the US.

The blizzard is the most powerful storm in the region for at least a decade, with up to 28 inches of snow expected in New York City, according to Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Across New York state, wind gusts are expected to reach up to 70 mph (112km).

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Mayor Mamdani has taken the unusual step of asking New Yorkers to take to the streets to shovel snow, upping the pay to more than $30 per hour (£22.24).

Mayor Mamdani said: “For those who want to do more to help your neighbours and earn some extra cash, you too can become an emergency snow shoveler. Just show up at your local sanitation garage… with your paperwork which is accessible online."

The rate will jump to $45 and hour after the first 40 hours worked in a week.

Mayor Mamdani also said that all streets, highways and bridges will be shut to traffic as the Big Apple braces for the storm.

Schools in the city are also closed as part of the first blizzard warning for nine years in NYC.

The blizzard is the second major snowstorm since Mamdani took office at the beginning of the year.

In the previous storm, 19 people lost their lives during a three-week cold snap.

"It's gonna be difficult for most New Yorkers to get around because we still have to go to work," Brooklyn resident Brandon Smith told news agency AFP.

"It's unfortunate [roads] are suspended as jobs are not gonna stop calling us in."

New York's state Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency for the whole state and has put 100 members of the National Guard on standby.

"This will be something the likes of which we've not seen in years," she said. "People will be in the dark. Long Island and New York City and lower Hudson are literally in the direct eye of the storm."

The US's National Weather Service (NWS) has warned the storm will bring an estimated 2-3 inches per hour, and that snowfall could reach 1-2ft (30-60cm) in places, resulting in "nearly impossible" travel conditions that were "extremely treacherous".

"While we do get plenty of these nor'easters that produce heavy snow and strong impacts, it's been several years since we saw one of this magnitude across this large of a region in this very populated part of the country," NWS meteorologist Cody Snell told CBS News.

Nearly 90,000 homes are without power in New Jersey, with tens of thousands more cut off in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.

Around 5,500 US flights were cancelled on Sunday, with hundreds more subject to delays, according to Flight Monitor.

Thousands of flights have also been cancelled on Monday, with LaGuardia and JFK Airport in NYC worst affected.

Massachusetts, Delaware, New Jersey and Rhode Island all also declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm. Boston, Massachusetts, closed its schools.