国际英语新闻：U.S. east coast hit by major snowstorm

 So far, there have been more than 500 flights canceled in and around the capital, said a cnn report, adding that the two-day snow could set a new record since 1909.

    The storm system was expected to blow a wind up to 56 kilometers per hour and trigger near-whiteout conditions that would put drivers in hardship.

Runners do jogging during a snowstorm blanketing the East Coast in Washington D.C., Dec. 19, 2009. Forecasts called for up to 50 centimetres of snow across the region, including Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and reaching up to New York.

In Virginia, the storm has caused several hundred motorists to be stranded in the western part of the state, and rescuers were trying to help them out with four-wheel drive vehicles and Humveesand provided them with food and water.

    Local authorities in storm-hit states have also declared the state of emergency on Saturday morning as hundreds of snow-removing trucks and staff were deployed to clear roads and help prevent ice from sticking.

    A spokeswoman from Amtrak, a major train operator in the United States, said that the company was putting more crews on duty to keep ice from forming on the overhead power lines as well as taking other preventive measures.

    The Coast Guard sent an airplane to fly from North Carolina to New Jersey, advising boaters to stay in port if they don't have a necessary reason to be on the water.

    Earlier this week, the storm had left flooded homes and stranded drivers when it swept the Gulf and south Florida areas.

A girl walks through the snow during a snowstorm blanketing the East Coast in Washington D.C., Dec. 19, 2009. Forecasts called for up to 50 centimetres of snow across the region, including Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and reaching up to New York.