The US begins to recover from the terrible storm that caused more than 50 deaths

The terrible winter storm that caused the death of at least 50 people In the United States, the Christmas weekend begins to show signs of abating as stories emerge of families trapped for days in what they call the “blizzard of the century.”

The number of deaths attributed to the blizzard, most to traffic accidents, rose to at least 50 after authorities confirmed another death in Erie County, western New York, the epicenter of the crisis.

“Unfortunately, police expect that number to rise,” tweeted Byron Brown, the mayor of Buffalo, the county’s largest city, which has been paralyzed for five days by 3-foot-high snow banks and power outagesand where the most snowfall was forecast Tuesday.

Kathy Hochulthe governor of New York state and a native of Buffalo, described the storm’s aftermath as “a war zone.”

As temperatures plummeted, travelers and some residents fleeing their freezing homes became stranded on the roads, unable to be rescued.

The family of Anndel Taylor, a 22-year-old Buffalo resident, said she died in her car after getting stuck on the way home from work. A video sent by Taylor and posted by her sister shows her vehicle covered in snow up to the windows.

Emergency services, stuck trying to rescue her, found her dead 18 hours later, possibly from carbon monoxide poisoning, her North Carolina family told local television station WSOC-TV.

A father recounted being trapped in his vehicle on the streets of Buffalo with his four young children for 11 hours before they were rescued, according to The New York Times.

Zila Santiago, 30, said she kept the engine running to warm up and gave her children some juice she found in her trunk. They were finally rescued at dawn by a passing snowplow.

worst christmas

“Temperatures are expected to moderate in the Midwest and East over the next few days,” the National Weather Service (NWS) said in its report early Tuesday, but warned that “locally hazardous travel conditions” would persist.

The storm with heavy snow squalls, hurricane-force winds and freezing temperatures forced the cancellation of almost 20,000 flights in recent days, including nearly 4,700 on Tuesday, according to tracking site FlightAware.

Most of the cancellations this Tuesday were at Southwest Airlines, which canceled more than 60% of its flights due to logistical problems related to its route network.

The Department of Transportation tweeted that it was “concerned by Southwest’s unacceptable cancellation rate” and that it would examine whether the company is “adhering to its customer service plan.”

US President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for New York state on Monday, freeing up funds to help it recover from the disaster, the White House said.

Buffalo International Airport remains closed through Wednesday morning and a driving ban remains in effect for the city and much of Erie County.

“You can get out and walk to see your neighbors, go open stores, etc. But don’t drive,” Erie County Chief Mark Poloncarz warned in a tweet.

Bill Sherlock, a longtime Buffalo resident, told AFP his home had received more than four feet of snow, but he was lucky to have had power and a good supply of food all weekend.

The less fortunate “probably had the worst Christmas of their lives,” said the 38-year-old lawyer, aware that some houses in his neighborhood have been without power since Friday.

Sherlock spent three hours clearing snow from his driveway and is going to wait another day before venturing farther, for the first time in almost a week: “We’re not going anywhere unless we have to.”

minor flooding

The NWS forecast isolated areas of snow in western New York on Tuesday, but a thaw was in the offing.

A respite of warmer temperatures of around 10º C for the next weekend, although authorities warned that melting snow could lead to minor flooding.

Subzero temperatures were recorded in 48 US states late last week, including Texas communities along the border with Mexico where some recently arrived migrants they had difficulty finding shelter.

At one point on Saturday, almost 1.7 million homes lost power due to the stormaccording to the specialized site poweroutage.us.

The icy roads have also led to the temporary closure of some of the country’s busiest routes, including Interstate 70, which runs through much of the United States from east to west.

Governor Hochul tweeted Tuesday that the reopening of several key highways in New York, as well as border crossings into Canada, were “a sign that we are finally turning around this once-in-a-generation storm.”