US: New York Sunday's severe winter storm brought danger and misery
to millions of Americans on Christmas Day, bringing the number of
weather-related deaths to at least 31. The storm brought heavy snowfall and
bitter cold to parts of the eastern United States.
In Buffalo, a city in western New York that has been trapped by a
blizzard and unable to reach high-impact areas, a crisis was
developing.
According to New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a native of Buffalo, where
eight-foot (2.4-meter) snow drifts and power outages have resulted in
life-threatening conditions, "it is (like) going to a warzone, and the
vehicles along the sides of the roads are shocking."
A "very dangerous life-threatening situation" was still affecting
residents, Hochul told reporters Sunday evening, and he advised anyone in
the vicinity to stay inside.
Although the five-day storm with its blizzard conditions and ferocious
winds showed signs of abating, more than 200,000 people in several eastern
states woke up without power on Christmas morning and many more had to
change their plans to travel for the holiday.
Over the weekend, the extreme weather brought wind chill temperatures in
all 48 states within the contiguous United States below freezing,
stranding holiday travelers with thousands of cancelled flights and
trapping residents in homes covered in ice and snow.
Nine states have reported 31 weather-related deaths, including four in
Colorado, who are likely to have died from exposure, and at least 12 in
New York, where authorities warned that the number would likely
rise.
Officials described historically hazardous conditions in the snow-prone
Buffalo region, including whiteouts lasting for hours and the discovery of
bodies in vehicles and beneath snow banks as rescue workers struggled to
locate those in need of rescue.
The city's international airport will remain closed until Tuesday, and
all of Erie County, where the lake-side metropolis is located, is still
prohibited from driving.
Hochul said, "We now have what'll be talked about not just today but for
generations (as) the blizzard of '22." He added that the severity of the
storm had "intensity, the longevity, the ferocity of the winds" exceeded
that of the region's landmark snowstorm of 1977.
A senior county official stated that one frozen substation was reportedly
buried under 18 feet of snow, and that some residents were not expected to
regain power until Tuesday as a result of frozen electric
substations.
"Additional snow accumulations of 2 to 3 feet through tonight," the
National Weather Service warned, indicated that blizzard conditions
brought on by lake-effect snow continued Sunday in the Great Lakes
region of western New York.
Saturday, a couple in Buffalo, across the border from Canada, told AFP
that they would not be making the 10-minute drive to see their family
for Christmas because the roads were completely impassable.
Rebecca Bortolin, 40, stated, "It's tough because the conditions are
just so bad... a lot of fire departments aren't even sending out trucks
for calls."
For millions, a broader travel nightmare was fully present.
According to Flightaware.com, the storm, one of the strongest in
decades, caused the cancellation of more than 2,400 US flights on
Sunday. On Saturday, approximately 3,500 flights were canceled, and on
Friday, nearly 6,000 flights were canceled.
Throughout Christmas Day, travelers were stuck or delayed at airports
in Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, and New York.
Some of the busiest transportation routes in the country, including the
Interstate 70 across the country, were also temporarily shut down as a
result of road ice and whiteout conditions.
Despite the fact that the nation was approaching the time of year when
travel is typically at its busiest, drivers were being warned not to use
the roads.
Numerous power providers have urged millions of people to reduce their
usage in order to prevent rolling blackouts in states like North
Carolina and Tennessee due to the severe weather.
According to the tracker poweroutage.us, at one point on Saturday,
nearly 1.7 million customers were without power in the bitter
cold.
By Sunday evening, the number had significantly decreased, but more
than 70,000 customers in eastern states were still without power.
A bus rollover on Saturday in British Columbia, Canada, thought to have
been caused by icy roads killed four people and sent 53 to the hospital,
two of whom are still in critical condition early Sunday.
Many thousands were in the mean time left without power in Ontario and
Quebec, many flights were dropped in significant urban communities and
train traveler administration among Toronto and Ottawa was
suspended.
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