The balance of deaths due to a storm of icy temperatures that hits parts of the midwest and east of the United States has risen to more than fifty, after seven states of the North American country have confirmed deaths in the last hours.
The US is going through its coldest Christmas since the 1980s, with thermometers reaching temperatures as low as -50 degrees in Idaho.
According to information collected by the American television channel CNN, eight people have died in Ohiothree each in Kansas, New York, and Kentucky, two each in Colorado, and one each in Missouri, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.
In addition, more than 315,000 homes and businesses have been left without electricity because of the storms on Christmas Eve, when more than 3,300 flights have also been cancelled, while more than 800 are already canceled this Sunday.
According to the US media, weather forecasts suggest that the storm will be accompanied in the next few hours by heavy snowfall, blizzards and even flooding in some parts of the northeast coast. At the moment there is no truce in sight until after Christmas Day.
New York asks to be declared a disaster area
The Governor of the State of New York, Kathy Hochulhas asked the White House to declare the northwest of the state a catastrophic area, after the passage of winter storm Elliot, which has caused nearly 30 deaths in the region.
In a press conference held in the city of Buffalo, the city hardest hit by snow and low temperatures, Hochul emphasized the importance of this measure to deal with the costs and expenses caused by the storm, which throughout the United States left fifty dead.
In her speech, the governor added that although the situation is better, they are still expected to fall between 15 and 30 centimeters of snow in southern Erie County, whose capital is the city of Buffalo.
“The situation is not bad as in the last two days, but it is still a dangerous situation to be outside. Stay home until tomorrow,” insisted Hochul, who described the storm as “once in a generation.”
According to local authorities, there are still 12,000 homes without electricity in the city, where four electrical substations were damaged by the passage of the storm. “We fully understand the difficulties that so many families are going through and the frustration they are facing. There are 18 deaths in Buffalo: in the streets, they became disoriented and died; people who died in cars and in houses,” Brown said before emphasize that it is a “very difficult and dangerous” situation.
Those responsible again vehemently insisted that the ban on driving vehicles on the streets continues to be in force and explained that there are dozens of abandoned and piled up cars that are hindering the rescue efforts.
Source: Lasexta
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
