The "century" storm that hit the United States has caused dozens of deaths, amid extreme weather factors that are accompanied by snow, winds, and temperatures that reach freezing. And it was reported that the number of victims exceeded 53, according to the French News Agency.
Emergency crews are working to inspect the losses of the snow storm that deprived millions of Americans of celebrating Christmas, especially in snow-covered western New York, where the number of deaths due to the weather reached 25 on Monday, in what the authorities described as a "war with Mother Nature" in the face of the "storm of the century." ".
Several parts of the northeastern United States are facing a series of extreme weather events with accompanying snow, winds and freezing temperatures that swept the country over several days, causing widespread power outages, flight cancellations and at least 47 deaths.
The storm has led to more than 15,000 flight cancellations in recent days, including about 1,700 on Monday, according to Flightaware.com.
For its part, the meteorologists expected that snow would continue to fall in the city of Buffalo, which is accustomed to bad winter weather, and that a layer of 14 inches (35 centimeters) thick would be added on Monday, in addition to what had accumulated for days and led to the paralysis of the city and the collapse of its emergency services, while the weather remained The storm camped on Erie County in western New York, where Buffalo is located, which has become the epicenter of the weather crisis.
"In addition to the 13 deaths confirmed yesterday, the Erie County Health Department's Office has confirmed an additional 12 deaths, bringing the total number of deaths from the blizzard to 25 countywide," Mark Poloncars, Erie County Executive Officer, said during a news conference.
Poloncars noted that the severe weather made it "probably the worst storm in our lifetimes and in the city's history."
He said the number of deaths in Erie would likely exceed the victims of the 1977 Buffalo Blizzard, which killed about 30 people.
Poloncars warned residents to stay indoors, with more snow expected and most of Buffalo's roads declared "impassable."
And he added, "This is not the end yet, we are not there yet," explaining that the electric current will not be fully restored in Buffalo until Monday, and that Buffalo International Airport will remain closed until Tuesday.
National Guard personnel and other teams rescued hundreds of people from cars buried under snow, but authorities said more people were still trapped.
For her part, New York Governor Kathy Hochul expressed her shock at what she saw during a reconnaissance tour Sunday in the city, describing the matter as "a war zone, and the sight of cars on both sides of the roads is shocking."
She pointed out the threat of more than two meters of accumulated snow to homes and the residents' suffering from power outages, adding: "It is a war with Mother Nature."
And she continued, "Certainly, it is the storm of the century.. It is too early to say that it is about to end."
Severe weather dropped temperatures in 48 US states to below freezing over the weekend.
More than 48,000 homes were without power on the East Coast on Sunday, according to the website Power-Autage, which reported power outages for 150,000 homes initially.
And the US Weather Service expects temperatures to return to normal seasonal rates "by the middle of next week."
A bus overturned last Saturday in British Columbia, Canada, likely due to ice, killed four people and transferred 53 others to hospital, including two who were in critical condition early Sunday morning.
Hundreds of thousands of people were deprived of power in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec, a large number of flights were canceled in major cities, and passenger train service between Toronto and Ottawa was suspended.