Two AI flights delayed due to Hurricane Sandy

New Delhi, Oct 29:

today said its Mumbai-Newark and Delhi-New York flights have been "indefinitely delayed" due to

which is set to hit the East Coast of the United States.

An Air India spokesperson said AI 191 Mumbai-Newark and AI 101 Delhi-New York have been indefinitely delayed due to the hurricane.

Passengers have been informed and transit passengers have been provided hotel accommodation in Delhi, the spokesperson said.

Expected to landfall tonight with a gusty wind and heavy rainfall, the hurricane is likely to create havoc in major parts of the United States in its East Coast –from North Carolina to New England as far west as the Great Lakes.

US President Barack Obama has declared emergency in a number of states including New York, New Jersey, Virginia, District of Columbia and Massachusetts.

Thousands of emergency staff have been put in alert; government offices and schools have been closed for today and tomorrow and hundreds and thousands of people from the low lying areas have been asked to evacuate as the hurricane is expected to bring potentially life-threatening storm surges on the coast ranging from several feet to potentially as high as 11-feet in the coastal areas.

The metro systems of several cities including that of Washington DC, the national capital, Philadelphia and New York, which has the world's largest rapid transit system, have been closed. The United Nations headquarters in New York too have been shut down for two days.

PTI