In the USA, the arctic storm “Elliott” overshadows the Christmas holidays. “We are not over the hill yet”, warns the governor of New York, and Joe Biden expresses his solidarity.
At least 50 people have died across the United States in recent days due to extreme cold and heavy snowfall. In the district of Erie County in the state of New York alone, 27 people died, as Marc Poloncarz, district manager, announced on Twitter on Monday (local time). Nationwide, more than 51 people have died in connection with Arctic winter storm Elliott, the ABC reported. According to broadcaster NBC, 56 people died.
“My heart goes out to those who have lost loved ones this holiday weekend,” President Joe Biden wrote on Twitter. Kathy Hochul, governor of the severely affected New York state, spoke of a “historic snowstorm” and warned of new blizzards in the city of Buffalo, where dozens of people have already died. “The storm is subsiding but we are not over the hill yet,” she wrote on Twitter. She urged people to take no risks and stay at home.
Power outages, canceled flights, freezing cold
“Elliott” brought meter-deep snow, temperatures in the negative double digits and hurricane-force winds to large parts of the US over Christmas weekend. The region around the Great Lakes in the northeastern US and bordering Canada was particularly affected. Hundreds of thousands of homes were affected by power outages.
The Arctic cold front has also derailed many travelers’ Christmas plans: according to flight data website “FlightAware”, more than 10,000 flights were canceled from Friday to Sunday.
(APA/dpa)