US winter storm kills over 60, more flights cancelled; driving ban enforced in Buffalo
Florida ,Dec 28: The severe winter storm in the United States has so far claimed more than 60 lives across the nation. According to media reports, a total of 62 people have been reported dead across different parts of the country, with Buffalo being the worst hit.
Even in central Florida, temperatures plunged as low as 27 degrees (minus 2.7 Celsius) over the weekend.
In Buffalo, the dead were found in cars, homes, and snowbanks. Some people perished while shovelling snow, others died when emergency crews could not respond in time to medical crises. Poloncarz, a Democrat, called the blizzard “the worst storm probably in our lifetime,” even for an area known for heavy snow.
More bodies are expected to be found as the snow is cleared or melts.
Some winter storm fatalities result of stranded people freezing in cars: Report
The winter blast stranded some people in cars for days, shuttered the city’s airport, and left some residents shivering without heat.
More than 4,000 homes and businesses were still without power late Tuesday morning.
The rest of the United States was also reeling, with at least an additional two dozen storm deaths reported elsewhere around the country and power outages in communities from Maine to Washington state.
Snow-choked roads on Tuesday forced the state and military police in Buffalo to enforce a driving ban within New York’s second-most populous city. Even as suburban roads and most major highways in the area reopened, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz warned that police would be stationed at entrances to Buffalo and at major intersections.
Meanwhile, officials kept counting the number of fatalities three days after western New York’s deadliest storm in at least two generations.
A “let’s go Buffalo” sign is seen behind an abandoned car on the road in Buffalo, New York (Photo: Reuters)
A building entrance is covered in snow following a winter storm in Buffalo, New York (Photo: Reuters)
A building entrance is covered in snow following a winter storm in Buffalo, New York (Photo: Reuters)
More than 30 people are reported to have died in the region, officials said, including seven storm-related deaths announced Tuesday by Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown’s office.
The toll surpasses that of the historic blizzard of 1977, blamed for killing as many as 29 people in an area known for harsh winter weather.
California witnessed powerful winds, rain, and snow, with substantially lower temperatures that topped 80 degrees (26.6 Celsius) in some areas over Christmas.
There were numerous reports of roadway flooding and downed trees and branches as the storm blew into the northern half of the state and spread south, the National Weather Service said.
Pacific Gas & Electric’s website showed numerous power outages scattered across Northern California.
Winter storm warnings were issued for the Sierra Nevada, where motorists were advised that travel could be hazardous.
A fallen tree is seen following a winter storm in Buffalo, New York (Photo: Reuters)
A fallen tree is seen following a winter storm in Buffalo, New York (Photo: Reuters)
Chains or snow tyres were required on some highways.
Gusts up to 120 mph (193 kph) were recorded on some Sierra ridgetops, the Reno, Nevada, weather office said. Backcountry avalanche warnings were issued for parts of the mountain range.
Emergency electrical service vehicles gather in parking lot following a winter storm in Buffalo, New York (Photo: Reuters)
Emergency electrical service vehicles gather in parking lot following a winter storm in Buffalo, New York (Photo: Reuters)
outhwest Airlines came under fire from the US government on Tuesday after it cancelled thousands of flights. Its owner said the low-cost carrier needed to upgrade its legacy airline systems.
Thousands of flights were cancelled a day earlier too, as the massive winter storm swept over much of the country, but Southwest’s woes have deepened while other airlines have largely recovered.
The Dallas-based carrier, which typically has an aggressive schedule that connects vast swathes of the country, has scrapped more than 12,000 flights since Friday.
On Tuesday, it cancelled more than two-thirds of its 4,000 scheduled flights, accounting for more than 90 per cent of all US airline cancellations, tracking website FlightAware showed.
Southwest Airlines travellers wait in line to check on their baggage from their cancelled flights (Photo: Reuters)
Southwest Airlines travellers wait in line to check on their baggage from their cancelled flights (Photo: Reuters)
The airline said it would operate roughly a third of daily flights for the next several days.
The airline also said it would reimburse customers for travel-related costs and that it had already processed thousands of requests by early Tuesday.
Taking stock of the situation, US President Joe Biden said his administration was working to ensure airlines were “held accountable,” according to a tweet on his official POTUS handle.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden travelled to the US Virgin Islands to enjoy some downtime and warmer weather and to ring in a new year with family.
he president and his wife, first lady Jill Biden, flew from Washington on Tuesday to St. Croix, one of three islands that make up the US territory in the Caribbean.
St. John and St. Thomas are the other two islands.
The Bidens were joined by their daughter Ashley and her husband, Howard Krein, as well as grandchildren Natalie and Hunter, whose father was the president’s late son, Beau.
-The Indian Today
