First change: 27.12.2022 – 16:08 Last change: 27.12.2022 – 16:07
BUFFALO (United States) (AFP) – The extreme cold sweeping the United States was expected to ease in the east and Midwest on Tuesday after the worst winter storm of the century killed at least 49 people and brought down the means of transport over the Christmas weekend.
“Temperatures in the Midwest and East are expected to ease over the next few days,” the National Weather Service (NWS) said in its latest report early Tuesday, but warned that “locally hazardous travel conditions” would remain.
“It’s too early to say it’s over,” New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul said at a news conference Monday. “It’s clearly the blizzard of the century,” added the Buffalo-born official, the storm’s epicenter.
Authorities described harsh conditions, particularly in Buffalo, with hours of power outages, people killed in vehicles and under snow banks, and responders searching “vehicle by vehicle” for survivors.
The city of Buffalo, New York State, covered in snow due to a severe winter storm on December 25, 2022 © Joed Viera / AFP
The storm, which featured heavy snow gusts, gale force winds and freezing temperatures, forced the cancellation of more than 15,000 flights in recent days, including nearly 4,000 on Monday, according to the FlightAware tracking site.
Speaking Monday to President Joe Biden, who has offered the “full force of the federal government” to support New York State, Hochul said he and First Lady Jill Biden would pray for those who lost loved ones in the storm’s statement White House.
Biden also approved a declaration of emergency for the state, the White House reported.
The National Weather Service (NWS) forecast up to 35 centimeters more snow Monday, adding to the several meters that had already buried the city as officials struggled to reestablish emergency services.
Erie County Clerk Mark Poloncarz tweeted Monday afternoon that the blizzard-related death toll nationwide has risen to 27, including 14 people spotted outdoors and three spotted in a car.
The Erie County city of Buffalo is the epicenter of the crisis, buried under mountains of snow © Joed Viera / AFP
At a news conference earlier in the day, Poloncarz said Erie’s death toll would likely exceed that of the historic 1977 Buffalo blizzard, when nearly 30 people died.
With more snow forecasts and most of Buffalo “impassable,” he joined Hochul in warning residents to take shelter and stay put.
“war zone”
National Guardsmen and other first responders have already rescued hundreds of people from snow-covered cars and homes without power, but authorities say people remain trapped.
“It’s heartbreaking to get calls from families with kids saying they froze to death,” Erie County Sheriff John Garcia, who called the storm “the worst” he’s ever seen, told CNN.
“It’s (like) driving into a war zone and the roadside vehicles are shocking,” Hochul said, describing the eight-foot-tall snowdrifts and “buried” rescue vehicles.
In New York state, authorities described gruesome conditions as emergency responders searched vehicle by vehicle for survivors © John Normile / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
Freezing temperatures were recorded in 48 US states over the weekend, including in Texan communities along the border with Mexico, where some recently arrived migrants have struggled to find shelter.
Major power outages
Almost 1.7 million homes were without power as of Saturday due to the storm, according to specialist website poweroutage.us.
Blackouts have been significantly reduced, although as of Monday morning about 50,000 participants on the US east coast were still without power.
Due to frozen substations, some Erie County residents were not expected to get power again until Tuesday.
A man tries to start his frozen vehicle in Nashville, Tennessee © Seth Herald / AFP
Buffalo International Airport closed Tuesday and a driving ban remains in effect for the city and much of Erie County.
The icy roads have also resulted in the temporary closure of some of the nation’s busiest routes, including Interstate 70, which runs east-west through much of the United States.
The weather is expected to gradually improve as the week progresses.
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