Shovelling goes on in north-east US and Canada after snowstorm Nemo A man takes a phone call break from shovelling on Battery Street in the North End as Bostonians dig out from under winter storm Nemo. Photograph: Dominick Reuter/EPA After the big snow comes the big dig. More than a day after a behemoth storm dumped up to 3ft of the white stuff on parts of America's north-east, residents and emergency crews battled to clear streets and reconnect cut-off homes. Around-the-clock work was under way in snow-covered areas from New York to Boston, while utility firms struggled to restore power lines down by vicious winds. Some 345,000 properties remained in the dark on Sunday morning, with firms warning that some would remain that way - in freezing conditions - until Monday at the earliest. The powerful weather system hit America's north-east and parts of Canada on Friday, bringing with it heavy snowfall and strong winds. It led to chaos on the regions roads, with several states banning motorists from the roads. Thousands of flights were cancelled. Boston's Logan airport and the New York-serving JFK and Newark were among the worst hit. Such were the adverse conditions that the governors of six states - New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Maine - declared states of emergency. At least eight deaths were recorded: three in Canada and five in the US. In southern Ontario, an 80-year-old woman collapsed while shovelling snow from her driveway and two men died in car crashes. In New York, a 74-year-old pedestrian died after he was struck by a car in Poughkeepsie when the driver lost control. In Boston, authorities said an 11-year-old boy had died of carbon monoxide poisoning as he sat in a car with the engine running in order to keep warm. He had been helping his father shovel snow but got into the vehicle to avoid the cold weather. A Boston fire department spokesman said the car's exhaust was covered by a snow bank, causing the fumes to collect inside. The storm hit hard along the heavily populated Interstate 95 corridor between New York City and Maine. The heaviest snow fell on parts of Connecticut - in the coastal city of Milford, 38in was recorded. In Portland, Maine, 31.9in was seen, breaking a record set in 1979. Communities in New York and across New England saw more than 2ft. Boston saw 24.9in, while parts of New York City saw up to 12in. But despite the heavy snowfalls, the storm was not as bad as some meteorologists had feared. Nor was it as dire as the great blizzard of 1978, which is used as a benchmark by New Englanders against which other winter storms are measured. Nonetheless, it required back-breaking efforts to clear roads and driveways. It's like lifting cement. They say it's 2ft, but I think it's more like 3ft," said Michael Levesque, who was shovelling snow in Quincy, Massachusetts, for a landscaping company. In Manhattan, the city's fleet of snow ploughs had cleared the snow off main roads by Saturday morning. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the city had "dodged a bullet" and that its streets were "in great shape." The city's three major airports - LaGuardia, JFK and Newark - were up and running by late morning after shutting down Friday evening. The storm also largely spared New York residents still recovering from Superstorm Sandy. "I was very lucky and I never even lost power," said Susan Kelly of Bayville, a coastal village on LongIsland that was badly hit by October's super storm. We were dry as anything. My new roof was fantastic. Other than digging out, this storm was a nice storm," she said, adding: "I got two hours of exercise."