Large parts of the eastern United States are sinking under meters of snow. It’s been -40 degrees for days. In western New York state alone, 27 people were killed by the cold. In total, the death toll rose to at least 58, the BBC writes. The US weather service still expects severe frost for Monday, and more moderate weather is not expected until Tuesday. US President Joe Biden (80) promised Kathy Hochul (64), governor of New York, federal aid after the “blizzard of the century”.
Even as the storm’s intensity diminishes, it “remains dangerous to be outside,” Hochul said while visiting the particularly affected city of Buffalo. Another 30 centimeters of fresh snow can be expected. Most of the city’s streets were still blocked by masses of snow on Monday. Photos from the city center showed cars parked across the street under mounds of snow. Videos show people emptying stores. Police confirmed two lootings. However, the number of unreported cases is probably much higher.
The driving ban remains in effect
Buffalo’s roads remained largely blocked by impressive amounts of snow on Monday. Photos from the city center showed cars parked across the street under mounds of snow.
The death toll around Buffalo has risen to 25. Official Mark Poloncarz (55) fears even more deaths than in Buffalo’s worst winter storm in 1977, when nearly 30 people died. “Please don’t drive unless you are in the emergency services,” he pleaded. “Conditions are bad.” A driving ban remains in force in the west of the district.
“We’re taking people to doctors, nurses and hospitals today,” local sheriff John Garcia told CNN. The winter storm was the “worst” he had ever seen. Sometimes you saw nothing. In addition, authorities were unable to respond to emergency calls. “It’s heartbreaking when you get calls from families with kids saying they’re freezing to death,” he told CNN.
Front doors suddenly disappeared
A local family with young children aged two to six had to wait 11 hours before being rescued in the wee hours of Christmas Day. “I was basically hopeless,” the father, Zila Santiago, told CBS News. Thanks to the running engine, he managed to generate heat. He kept his despair at bay by playing with the children.
Buffalo was temporarily cut off from the outside world over Christmas and emergency services were unable to reach particularly hard-hit areas. Front doors disappeared behind snow drifts up to three meters high and the situation became life-threatening due to power failures at freezing temperatures.
The National Guard had to leave
Ditjak Ilunga of Gaithersburg, Maryland, told CBS News that he was taking his daughters to visit relatives in Hamilton, Ontario when their SUV got stuck in Buffalo. After spending hours with the engine idling, he made the desperate decision to face the howling storm to reach a nearby shelter. He carried six-year-old Destiny on his back while 16-year-old Cindy held her Pomeranian puppy and followed in his footsteps.
“If I stay in this car, I will die here with my children,” Ilunga recalled. He said he cried as the family walked through the doors of the shelter. “It’s something I’ll never forget in my life.”
Hochul dispatched about 200 National Guard members to Buffalo and the surrounding area, who rescued hundreds of people from snow-covered cars and homes without electricity. However, according to the authorities, the people were still cut off from the outside world.
Flight chaos in the US
Several people froze to death in their cars, others were discovered on the road in snowdrifts and others suffered heart attacks while clearing snow, Poloncarz said. He spoke of “probably the worst storm in our lives and in the history of the city”. Buffalo International Airport would remain closed through Tuesday. Due to frozen substations, some residents can only expect power again on Tuesday.
Extreme weather conditions saw temperatures drop below freezing in a total of 48 states over the weekend. Widespread power outages, impassable roads and canceled flights thwarted the travel plans of millions of American citizens over Christmas. Chaos reigned at numerous airports. More than 15,000 U.S. flights have been canceled in recent days, and at least 2,600 U.S. flights were canceled again on Monday, according to website Flightaware.com. (SDA/department)