The United States slowly emerged Wednesday from a historic storm that killed at least 59 people, but its impact continued to be felt in the Buffalo area and at airports as hundreds of thousands of passengers canceled their flights.
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Heavy snowfalls, freezing winds, sudden drops in temperature… Even in regions used to harsh winters, inclement weather has wreaked havoc, sometimes leaving rescue teams stranded.
New York’s Erie County alone, home to the city of Buffalo near the border with Canada, has recorded 37 of the country’s at least 59 storm-related deaths, according to a new report Wednesday.
People died because they had no heating at home in the freezing cold, authorities said. Others were found dead in their cars or on the street.
At Christmas, much of the country, including Texas and Florida, felt the cold to varying degrees as they were unaccustomed to such weather conditions.
The latter improved on Wednesday with rising temperatures.
But “as temperatures get warmer, we expect snowmelt and possible flooding from rapid melting,” warned Mark Poloncarz, an Erie County official.
New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul urged various local authorities to prepare for “potentially dangerous flooding.”
According to a statement, water pumps, generators and sandbags were ready for distribution, including for Erie County.
On Wednesday, the National Guard went door-to-door in areas where power had not yet been restored to ensure residents are safe, Mark Poloncarz tweeted.
The driving ban remained in effect in Buffalo.
In recent days, some have criticized the county’s response to the announced storm, arguing that this ban should have been issued sooner.
“I don’t know if it would have changed anything, but it was my decision and I take full responsibility for it,” said Mark Poloncarz.
Stack of suitcases
Disruptions continued at airports including Denver, Chicago and Baltimore. In question: the cancellation of flights in series around the Christmas weekend.
But while most airlines’ pace had returned to normal, one, Southwest Airlines, continued to grapple with a service debacle. Of the roughly 2,800 flights canceled on Wednesday, more than 2,500 were operated by Southwest, according to the FlightAware website.
On Tuesday evening, its CEO Bob Jordan apologized in a video message.
“We’re doing everything we can to get back to normal… I’m really sorry,” he said.
Speaking to CNN, Southwest Pilots Association vice president Mike Santoro expressed his frustration, explaining that the company had long suffered from a “largely outdated” computer system that made it difficult to organize flights.
“We’re tired of apologizing on behalf of Southwest,” he said, urging the company to invest in upgrading its system. “This is the biggest disruption I have ever experienced in my 16 years with the company (…). It’s embarrassing,” he said.
Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg said he would take a close look at “what happened to their system.”
“While we understand that it is impossible to control the weather, this clearly crossed the line between an uncontrollable situation regarding the weather and something that is the direct responsibility of the company,” he told NBC.
Hundreds of suitcases were still piled up at BWI Airport in Baltimore, Maryland, on Wednesday, according to an AFP journalist.
Mary, a Southwest customer from Orlando who declined to give her last name, was missing the car seat for her two-month-old. She has been queuing with about 50 other people for the past few days trying to locate her lost luggage.
“We still have to drive three hours to get home, we can’t make it without (the car seat),” she lamented.