
Anthony Hamilton, age six, was one of six killed in the storm

At least six people have been killed by falling trees as a powerful Nor'easter pounds the East Coast, submerging Boston and parts of coastal Massachusetts.

The storm system known as 'bombogenesis' toppled trees and power lines elsewhere on Friday and dumped more than 20 inches of snow.

On Friday morning, storm surges of up to four feet rushed over the sea wall and into city streets as Winter Storm Riley took hold in Boston.

While Massachusetts was pounded by floods and rain, much of the East Coast endured heavy snow and winds of up to 60 mph.

Forecasters said rain and snow was expected to slowly come to an end early Saturday, hanging on across southern New England the longest.

In Putnam, New York, an 11-year-old boy was killed on Friday when a falling tree struck his home.

In Virginia, six-year-old Anthony Hamilton died when a tree fell on his home in Chester. About 50 miles away, James City County Police said that a man had died when a tree fell on his vehicle.

Another motorist was killed near Stamford, Connecticut after a tree fell on a car, state police said.

In Baltimore, officials confirmed the death of a woman, 77, who was struck by a large tree branch and pronounced dead at the scene.

In Newport, Rhode Island, 72-year old Robert Beaver was hit and killed by a tree at his home down the street from The Breakers, the Gilded Age mansion built for the Vanderbilt family.

Voluntary evacuations have been in place along the coast since late on Thursday night before the floods began. The National Guard has been called in to parts of Massachusetts to assist local authorities with evacuations.

Shocking videos showed people kayaking through the underwater streets and trucks being swept away by waves.

The intense storm has paralyzed travel along the entire north east coast, causing thousands of flight cancellations and chaos along railways. Some 3,227 flights have been canceled and another 3,134 have been delayed as a result of the storm.

As of midday EST, an estimated 500,000 people along the northeast coast had lost power and more were expected to see outages as the day wore on. By evening, that number had doubled to 1.4million.

Scroll down for videos

A woman and child are rescued by boat in Quincy, Massachusetts, on Friday after getting stuck in flood waters

The Quincy, Massachusetts Marine Unit Dive Team is transported down flooded Sea Street by a front-end loader on Friday

A National Guard vehicle brings emergency workers to residents trapped by flood waters on Friday in Quincy, Massachusetts

A flooded shed and home due to a strong coastal storm are seen on Friday in Quincy, Massachusetts

The 42-foot fishing vessel Artemis rests on the breakwater near Provincetown Inn after breaking from its mooring on Friday in Provincetown, Massachusetts. A relentless nor'easter pounded the Atlantic coast with hurricane-force winds

The National Weather Service tweeted a worrying warning out as the storm intensified, telling people to stay at home amid reports that motorists were becoming stranded on the roads.

'Turn around, don't drown!' they urged.

In Quincy, a city in Massachusetts, schools were closed and marine units had to rescue people from the streets in tractor buckets. In some parts, the flood water was 6ft deep.

The National Weather Service warned on Friday that it was a life or death situation for any coastal residents

Hurricane strength winds of are a possibility in Cape Cod and heavy snow is also due to be seen in Ohio.

As much 18 inches of snow fell in parts of upstate New York and Pennsylvania on Friday morning and at least three inches will fall in New York City.

It is a sudden and dramatic change from the false-start Spring weather seen earlier in the week.

The highest snowfall was in the town of East Aurora near Buffalo where 18 inches of snow fell in 24 hours by Friday morning.

Fourteen inches fell in Harborcreek, Pennsylvania, and 12 inches fell in Windham, New York, near North East, Pennsylvania.

Eleven inches were recorded in Chardon, Ohio, and 10 inches were recorded at Buffalo-Niagara International Airport.

In Washington DC and Virginia, strong winds downed trees and disrupted travel. A tree crashed through the fencing at Vice President Mike Pence's residence and President Trump was forced to fly out of Dulles International Airport instead of Joint Air Base Andrews.

He and the First Lady were seen struggling against the wind as they disembarked

Republican Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker activated 200 National Guard members to help with the storm.

This was the crowded scene in Penn Station on Friday afternoon as scores tried to get out of the city for the weekend

People wait in Penn Station in New York due to suspension on the Amtrak service between New York and Boston on Friday

Passengers wait for SEPTA regional rail trains, most of which were suspended, in Philadelphia's Jefferson Station on Friday

Air travelers stand at the check in counter during a winter nor'easter at LaGuardia Airport in New York on Friday

Flight Aware's Misery Map shows how flight cancellations at northeast hubs spread out to the rest of the country on Friday

Walking past Independence Hall, a woman braves the snow and wind along Market Street in Philadelphia on Friday

Streets department workers in Marple Township, Pennsylvania clear a downed tree during a winter storm on Friday

Workmen in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, repair wires from a downed line that fell on a pick-up truck

A worker cuts off branches of a tree blown down by high winds that blocked part of Woodley Road NW in Washington DC

A tree crashed through the metal fencing which surrounds Vice President Mike Pence's Washington DC residence

In Washington DC, rubble fell from a partially burned building. The strong wind rattled the already fragile house and sent bricks bearing down onto the street and a car outside

In Winchester, Virginia, a child rides their bike beneath a downed tree on Friday

In Tacoma Park, Maryland, the strong wind uprooted trees and caused them to crash down on to cars

Toppled power lines on the road in Watertown, Boston, on Friday. Police are advising residents not to go outdoors until the storm passes

A Boston resident kayaks through the streets on Friday past an abandoned car in the midst of Winter Storm Riley

WATCH: #Quincy residents including children rescued from flood waters by a front end loader. Vid from @kentucci pic.twitter.com/8HnlT0PYCg — WBZ | CBS Boston News (@wbz) March 2, 2018

In Essex, Massachusetts, there was rising flood water on Friday as a result of the storm

Rocky waters in Stone Harbor, New Jersey, shifted the dock on Friday afternoon

'We're expecting to see more severe flooding issues here than we did in the Jan. 4 storm,' when a Nor'easter lashed the region with heavy snow and rain, he said.

Along Boston's Long Wharf, not far from the Fanueil Hall tourist area, large piles of sandbags were in place around a subway station and a Marriott hotel, a spot that flooded with icy seawater during an early January storm.

A combination of heavy rains, monthly extreme high tides and a wind-driven storm surge could combine to cause several feet of water to flow onto streets in coastal parts of Boston and up and down the shoreline, government and private weather forecasters warned. High winds of up to 75 miles per hour (120 kmph) could also bring extensive power outages.

'People need to take this very seriously. If you live in an area that is told to evacuate, we strongly encourage you do so first thing Friday morning,' Baker said on Thursday.

Tourists battle the wind in Times Square on Friday. New York City endured gusty winds, rain and snow

A truck trailer toppled over on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge between Staten Island and New York. No one was injured

In New York City, tourists and city dwellers struggled through the day with flimsy umbrellas which were overpowered by the wind

A man in wrestles his umbrella through a windy Times Square as others around him battle the elements with scarves

A truck drives through floodwater in Boston's Long Wharf on Friday morning, two hours before high tide

At high tide shortly before noon on Friday, water flooded through the streets of coastal Massachusetts. Above, Scituate

In Scituate, a Massachusetts town near Boston, water rushes through the streets at high tide as Winter Storm Riley takes hold on Friday, March 2

A home in Scituate, Massachusetts, is surrounded by flood water from Winter Storm Riley

A felled tree in the Massachusetts town of Brockton which crushed a car beneath it on Friday as winds pounded the area

Flood warnings are in place along the coast but New England is most at risk. Above, a high tide wave batters homes in Scituate, Massachusetts

Water rose suddenly around houses in Scituate on Friday. The area was under a voluntary evacuation

A street in Scituate, near Boston, on Friday as water continued to rise through the town

A man walks through the street in Scituate, Boston, with water rising up to his ankles on Friday

People wade through ankle-deep water in State Street in Boston on Friday as the rain continues to pour

In Scituate, one of the worst affected areas, residents are seen waiting inside a pizza shop as the waters rose around them

At the Marriott hotel in Boston's Long Wharf, people wait behind sandbags as water rises around them

Press tents outside the White House toppled in the wind on Friday. No one was hurt

The National Weather Service had coastal flood watches and warnings in place from southern Maine through coastal North Carolina, including New York's eastern suburbs, and also warned that a snowstorm heading east from the Ohio Valley could drop significant amounts of snow in northern New York State.

Ocean-facing homes could be destroyed by the storm surge and waves, while people who live in neighborhoods reached by low-lying roads could be cut off from services for hours or days, officials and government forecasters warned.

'This could be another storm with prolonged onshore flooding,' said Paul Walker, a senior meteorologist with private forecasting services Accuweather.

Flooding could begin to pick up around high tide, forecast to occur shortly after 11 a.m. ET (1600 GMT) around Boston, he said.

Voluntary evacuation orders are in place across coastal Massachusetts.

In Marshfield, police are warning of 'astronomically high tides'.

The tracks at Hoboken train station in New Jersey had flooded on Friday morning as a result of the sudden and torrential rain

There was less minor flooding in Queens, New York, as a result of the sudden downpours on Friday morning

A motorist eases out onto the flooded street in Broad Channel, Queens, on Friday afternoon

A damaged dock floats in the water in Broad Channel, Queens, on Friday as the storm persisted

'It will be dangerous to remain in the homes,' said Massachusetts Emergency Management director Kurt Schwartz.

'Not only may rescue not be possible, but homes will be subject to significant structural damage.

People need to take this very seriously. If you live in an area that is told to evacuate, we strongly encourage you do so first thing Friday morning Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker

'We expect to lose homes during this storm. If you’re in one of those areas, you need to get out,' he added. Residents were taking matters into their own hands.

In Duxbury, south of Boston, officials urged people to evacuate as soon as possible, and the fire department was preparing to use a high water rescue vehicle for the first time to help any residents who wind up stuck in homes during high floodwaters.

Michelle Shaffer, 45, of the coastal Massachusetts town of Hull, lost her appliances under 5 feet of water during the last big storm.

'I have a new washer, and my boyfriend just built a wooden platform for it. We got a couple of sump pumps,' said Shaffer, who evacuated to higher ground Thursday night.

There are severe storm surges expected on Nantucket where up to four feet of water may break the sea wall

'This storm is going to be worse because it's going over three high tides,' she said.

The Coast Guard advised boaters to exercise 'vigilance and extreme caution.'

The National Weather Service warned that the storm would morph into heavier, wet snow later Friday.

In New Jersey, officials worried that the storm could take a chunk out of beaches just south of Atlantic City that are still being repaired because of damage from previous storms. Winds were expected to increase drastically throughout the day, peaking Friday afternoon with gusts from 50 mph to 60 mph that could leave downed trees and power lines.

More than 2,100 flights have been canceled and 550 have been delayed

The heaviest snowfall is expected to be in parts of western New York into northern Pennsylvania, with 8 to 12 inches likely.

Across the East Coast, authorities told residents of coastal communities to be prepared to evacuate if necessary in advance of Friday morning's high tide.

The weather service said all of Rhode Island was under flood and high wind watches through Sunday morning.

Airlines were making their own preparations.

Delta, Southwest, JetBlue and American Airlines were allowing travelers to change their Friday and Saturday flights ahead of time to avoid delays and cancellations at key airports across the Northeast.

Regional power utilities said they had extra crews on standby to deal with expected outages.

Newark Airport has suspended its AirTrain train due to the weather and is operating replacement bus services instead.