According to NBC News, this has increased the total death toll to at least fifty, AFP news agency comes to 47. Some of the victims were outside when the storms passed, others were in their cars and were completely buried under large amounts of snow.
Governor Kathy Hochul called the storm that swept across Buffalo and the surrounding area on Christmas Day “the most destructive” in the city’s history. A local administrator told CNN that even rescue teams have run into problems and have had to be rescued by specialist colleagues. At least eleven ambulances got stuck in the snow.
“We are used to snow here and can handle it,” said Erie County driver Mark Poloncarz. But the combination of high winds, extreme cold and the blinding effect of the snow made conditions “worse than we’ve ever seen,” the official said.
(Re) watch also: “Several deaths from snow storm in the US”