It’s no longer news that, the blizzard conditions currently affecting the United States have claimed no less than two scores of lives, just in few days. According to a release, the severe Arctic freeze coupled with fierce winds do not cease to wreck havoc on lives and properties in US. And, it has continued to hold tight much of North America.
However, as per RNS, Buffalo, in upstate New York, has registered as the worst-affected area, “where seven weather-related deaths were recorded and strong winds have hampered rescue efforts.” The family of one of the victims, Anndel Taylor, claimed the 22-year-old died in her car after getting stuck on her way home from work, according to Channels TV. And, in a video sent by Taylor before she met her dead end and later posted by her sister, her vehicle was shown covered up to its windows in snow.
In a report by Mark Poloncarz, Erie County Executive, some dead bodies were also found in cars and snow banks. Moreover, in Ohio, Vermont, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado and Wisconsin, storm-related fatalities couldn’t escape a record.
Byron Brown lately tweeted the police department, however, expect the number of the dead to rise, judging from the look of things. And, in the words of Kathy Hochul, New York State Governor to the reporters on Monday— “Certainly it is the blizzard of the century.”
As temperatures were deteriorating, it was reported that some residents escaping their death-growling homes got ensnared on highways, negotiating life and death under no rescue. The ominous incident eventually culminated, when some areas were eventually became inaccessible to ambulances for quite a number of hours and snowplows became incapacitated by the vicious storm.
As of Sunday, Reuters already claimed over 500,000 homes and businesses remained without power in the eastern half of the United States and Texas.
BBC also reported that, “the ‘bomb cyclone’ winter storm – which occurs when atmospheric pressure plummets, causing heavy snow and winds – has disrupted travel across the country.” Suffice to say, a large number of flights were cancelled, hindering many people from reaching their relations at Christmas.
In the same vein, the spread of this nasty condition has been become aberrant and unprecedented, dragging out as far south as Texas from Canada. And, lately, four fatalities were reported to have occurred in Canada, as a result of a bus which rolled over an icy road.
The provinces of Ontario and Quebec, as per BBC, currently seem to be topping the ladder in bearing the brunt of these adversely atmospheric conditions in Canada. And, according to a report, roughly 120,000 customers were already without electricity as of Sunday, with the officials saying it might take days for some households to be fixed.
US inclusively, Channels TV reported that, “The National Weather Service forecast a respite of warmer temperatures around 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius) by the weekend, although officials warned that melting snow could result in minor flooding.
Concluding on a recent tweet by Mark Poloncarz, it’s currently a piece of advice to US residents— “You can absolutely go out and walk to check on neighbors, go to open stores, etc. But do not drive.”