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Massive snow masses hit the USA. They’ve been fighting it for days.
Large parts of the eastern United States are sinking under meters of snow. It’s been down to -40 degrees for days. In western New York State alone, the cold killed 27 people. Overall, the death toll rose to at least 58, as the BBC writes. The US weather service continued to expect severe frost for Monday, with more moderate weather not expected until Tuesday. US President Joe Biden (80) promised Kathy Hochul (64), Governor of New York, federal aid after the “snowstorm of the century”.
Even if the intensity of the storm subsides, it remains “dangerous to be outside,” Hochul said during a visit to the particularly affected city of Buffalo. Another 30 centimeters of fresh snow can be expected. Most of the city’s streets were still blocked by snow masses on Monday. Pictures from the city center showed cars parked across the streets under mountains of snow. Videos show people emptying stores. The police confirmed two lootings. However, the number of unreported cases is likely to be much higher.
Weather chaos in the USA: Snowstorm kills several(01:38)
Driving ban remains in place
Buffalo’s roads continued to be mostly blocked by impressive amounts of snow on Monday. Pictures from the city center showed cars parked across the streets under mountains of snow.
The death toll around Buffalo has risen to 25. Official Mark Poloncarz (55) fears even more deaths than in the worst winter storm in Buffalo in 1977, when almost 30 people died. “Please don’t drive, unless you belong to the emergency services,” he appealed. “The conditions are bad.” A driving ban continues to apply in the west of the district.
“We’re taking people to doctors, nurses and hospitals today,” local sheriff John Garcia told CNN. The winter storm was the “worst” he had ever seen. At times you didn’t see anything. In addition, the authorities could not have responded to emergency calls. “It’s heartbreaking when you get calls from families with kids saying they’re freezing to death,” he told CNN.
Cold wave in the US: In Texas, even a car wash freezes over(01:03)
Front doors suddenly disappeared
A local family with young children aged two to six had to wait 11 hours before being rescued in the early hours of Christmas Day. “I was basically hopeless,” the father, Zila Santiago, told CBS News. Thanks to the running engine, he managed to generate heat. He kept his despair at bay by playing with the children.
Buffalo was temporarily cut off from the outside world over Christmas, and emergency services were unable to reach particularly hard-hit areas. Front doors disappeared behind snow drifts up to three meters high, and the situation became life-threatening due to power failures in freezing temperatures.
National Guard had to move out
Ditjak Ilunga of Gaithersburg, Maryland, told CBS News that he was taking his daughters to visit relatives in Hamilton, Ontario when their SUV got stuck in Buffalo. After spending hours with the engine idling, he made the desperate decision to face the howling storm to reach nearby shelter. He carried six-year-old Destiny on his back while 16-year-old Cindy held her Pomeranian puppy and followed in his footsteps.
“If I stay in this car, I will die here with my children,” Ilunga recalled. He said he cried as the family walked through the shelter’s doors. “It’s something I’ll never forget in my life.”
Accidents, power failure, deaths: Winter storm continues to wreak havoc across the US(01:05)
Hochul dispatched around 200 members of the National Guard to Buffalo and the surrounding area, who brought hundreds of people out of snow-covered cars and houses without electricity to safety. According to the authorities, however, people were still cut off from the outside world.
Flight chaos in the USA
Several people froze to death in their cars, others were discovered on the road in snowdrifts, and others suffered a heart attack while clearing snow, Poloncarz said. He spoke of “probably the worst storm in our lives and in the history of the city”. Buffalo International Airport was scheduled to remain closed through Tuesday. Due to frozen substations, some of the residents can only expect electricity again on Tuesday.
The extreme weather conditions caused temperatures to drop below freezing in a total of 48 states over the weekend. Large-scale power outages, impassable roads and canceled flights thwarted the travel plans of millions of US citizens over Christmas. Chaos reigned at numerous airports. According to the Flightaware.com website, more than 15,000 US flights have been canceled in the past few days, and at least 2,600 US flights were canceled again on Monday. (SDA/dept.)