A devastating winter storm in wreaking havoc in eastern US leaving millions of Americans fighting a brutal with at least 31 deaths being reported due to the weather conditions. Buffalo, in western New York, is currently being slammed by a blizzard, creating a crisis situation since emergency services are unable to reach high impact areas.
“It is (like) going to a warzone, and the vehicles along the sides of the roads are shocking,” said New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a native of Buffalo, where eight-foot (2.4-meter) snow drifts and power outages have made for life-threatening conditions.
Hochul told reporters Sunday evening that residents were still in the throes of a “very dangerous life-threatening situation” and warned everyone should remain indoors.
Historically dangerous conditions are being reported from the Buffalo region where people are witnessing hours-long whiteouts. Emergency workers are struggling to search for those in need of help with dead bodies being found in vehicles and under snow banks.
The city’s international airport remains closed until Tuesday and a driving ban remained in effect for all of Erie County. This year’s storm is officially the deadliest winter storm the region has witnessed, surpassing the prior landmark snowstorm of 1977 in “intensity, the longevity, the ferocity of the winds.”
“We now have what’ll be talked about not just today but for generations (as) the blizzard of ’22,” Hochul said.
Due to frozen electric substations, some residents were not expected to regain power until Tuesday, with one frozen substation reportedly buried under 18 feet of snow, a senior county official said.
Over 200,000 people across several eastern states were without power on Christmas morning. Holiday travel has been hit, leaving several travellers stranded owing to the five-day-long storm featuring blizzard conditions and ferocious winds showed signs of easing. All 48 contiguous US states witnessed below freezing temperatures over the weekend.
Thirty-one weather-related deaths have been confirmed across nine states, including four in Colorado who likely died of exposure. At least 12 people have lost their lives in New York state, where officials warned the number would likely rise.
One of the fiercest storms in decades led to the cancellation of more than 2,400 US flights on Sunday. Some 3,500 scrapped flights were scrapped on Saturday and nearly 6,000 Friday, according to tracking website Flightaware.com. Travelers remained stranded or delayed at airports throughout Christmas Day including in Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Detroit and New York.
Some of the country’s busiest transport routes, including the cross-country Interstate 70, have also been shut. Drivers have been warned not to take to the roads during what is the busiest time of year for travel.
(With inputs from agencies)
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