A severe winter storm is striking havoc in the eastern United States, leaving millions of Americans facing a brutal battle, with at least 31 deaths confirmed as a result of the weather conditions. Buffalo, in western New York, is currently being pounded by a blizzard, resulting in a crisis as emergency services are unable to reach high-impact neighborhoods.
“It is (like) going to a warzone, and the vehicles along the sides of the roads are shocking,” said New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a native of Buffalo, where eight-foot (2.4-meter) snow drifts and power outages have created dangerous conditions.
Hochul told reporters Sunday evening that residents were still in a “very dangerous life-threatening situation” and that everyone should stay indoors.
Devastating conditions in Buffalo due to storm
People in the Buffalo area are reporting historically perilous circumstances, including hours-long whiteouts. With dead bodies discovered in vehicles and under snow banks, emergency personnel is straining to find those in need of assistance.
The city’s international airport is still closed until Tuesday, and Erie County is still under a driving prohibition. This year’s storm is officially the deadliest winter storm in the region’s history, topping the previous record-breaking snowstorm in “intensity, length, and severity of the winds” in 1977.
“We now have what’ll be talked about not just today but for generations (as) the blizzard of ’22,” Hochul said.
Some households were not expected to restore power until Tuesday due to frozen electric substations, with one frozen substation apparently buried under 18 feet of snow, according to a senior county official.
On Christmas morning, almost 200,000 individuals in many eastern states were without power. The five-day-long storm that featured blizzard conditions and fierce winds has disrupted holiday travel, leaving numerous people stuck. Over the weekend, temperatures fell below freezing in all 48 contiguous United States.
Thirty-one weather-related deaths have been recorded in nine states, including four in Colorado who are believed to have died as a result of exposure. At least 12 people have died in New York state, with officials warning that the figure would surely grow.
2,400 US flights got canceled
On Sunday, more than 2,400 US flights were canceled due to one of the worst storms in decades. According to the airline tracking website Flightaware.com, 3,500 flights were canceled on Saturday and over 6,000 on Friday. Passengers were stranded or delayed at airports across the country on Christmas Day, including Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, and New York.
Some of the country’s main transportation routes, including Interstate 70, have also been closed. Drivers have been cautioned not to take to the roads during the busiest travel season of the year.