The fierce winter storm that paralyzed the western part of the US state of New York over the Christmas weekend has killed at least 27 people. The authorities in the region declared this on Monday, Reuters reports.
Rescuers are trying to excavate the area around the city of Buffalo after the heaviest snowfall in decades. New York Governor Kathy Hochul spoke of an “epic” weather disaster that occurs “once in a lifetime.” She described the Buffalo region, the state’s second-largest city, as “a war zone.” President Joe Biden has pledged federal aid.
A few dozen people have also died in the rest of the United States as a result of the winter weather that hit large parts of the country and neighboring Canada over the weekend. According to the NBC channel, at least 60 people have died across the country.
Also view the photo series: Winter weather in the United States
The winter storm has severely disrupted air traffic for the holiday season in North America. Thousands of flights have been cancelled.
Stranded vehicles
In Buffalo, the hardest hit city, about 125 inches of snow fell. Roads are littered with stranded cars, buses, ambulances, tow trucks and even snowplows buried in snowdrifts. This complicates efforts to clear roads and reach stranded residents. Thousands of people are without heat or light due to power outages. An additional 12 inches of snow is forecast for Tuesday in the area.
Among the fatalities were people who went into cardiac arrest while clearing snow around their homes or cars, said Mark Poloncarz, chief of the district of Erie in western New York on the border with Canada, where Buffalo is located. The district issued a warning that “clearing heavy, wet snow can lead to back problems and heart attacks.”