More than 60 people have been killed as the Arctic blast-induced bone-chilling cold continues to sweep through several US states affecting tens of millions, with forecasters, on Saturday (Jan 20) warning that the freezing air will linger across much of the United States over the weekend.
Deadly Arctic freeze continues
Two weeks of rain, snow, wind and sub-zero temperatures leading to power outages and icy roads have been blamed for at least 61 deaths across the US, reported NBC News on Saturday (Jan 20).
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The death toll rose from 55, reported on Friday (Jan 19) after emergency services in the US state of Mississippi announced two more deaths. The total number of deaths in the state rose to eight, on Saturday (Jan 20) and have been attributed to road conditions and extreme cold.
“Frostbite and hypothermia are likely with prolonged outdoor exposure,” emergency officials in Mississippi said Saturday. Many of the deaths have been reported in the US states of Tennessee and Oregon.
At least 19 of the deaths occurred in Tennessee, a southern state which was largely unprepared for such extreme cold conditions. Meanwhile, at least nine deaths occurred in Oregon.
Many deaths were also attributed to hypothermia or road accidents caused by dangerous conditions including icy roads.
Situation across various US states
On Saturday, residents of Northern California are expected to witness heavy rains. Meanwhile, residents in parts of the US states of Michigan, Indiana and Illinois will also reportedly see more snow.
This comes as parts of Indiana saw as much as 32 inches on Friday (Jan 19). Over 400,000 customers of Memphis Light, Gas & Water were affected by the recent outages and water shortages.
Oregon’s governor declared a statewide emergency Thursday night, nearly a week after the start of a crippling ice storm, as thousands in the state’s Willamette Valley have been without power due to freezing rain.
About 90,000 people remained without electricity as of Friday afternoon in the state after back-to-back storms, according to poweroutage.us. Public schools in the state’s city of Portland cancelled classes for four days straight amid concerns about icy roads and water damage to buildings.
Meanwhile, people in several states were forced to boil water to unfreeze pipes or simply for drinking and bathing.
The National Weather Service has indicated that Americans can expect some respite from the bone-chilling cold in the upcoming days. With “no additional replenishment of Arctic air from Canada,” a “steady warm-up” is forecast for the middle of the country starting Sunday (Jan 21).
(With inputs from agencies)
