The extreme onset of winter in the US over Christmas claims dozens of lives. Pedestrians and drivers in particular are at risk of losing their bearings in heavy snowfall and double-digit minus temperatures. The authorities are therefore already warning of further deaths.
In the USA, the snow masses from winter storm “Elliot” have reached proportions in some regions that make clearing the streets almost impossible. The district of Erie County in the extreme north-west of the state of New York, which also includes the city of Buffalo, is particularly affected. There are enough clearing vehicles, said Marc Poloncarz, who is responsible for the district, on Twitter. However, due to its height, they could no longer remove the snow. “It has to be shoveled onto trucks and then dumped somewhere,” writes Poloncarz. According to him, it will “probably take two days to clear a lane on every street in the city.” Therefore, there is a driving ban in Buffalo.
Not only Poloncarz, but also the New York State Department of Transportation tweeted images of snowploughs and crawler tractors struggling through the region’s icy roads, clearing snow piles and clearing the roads of stranded trucks and cars that veered off the road in the snow and in the got stuck in high snow. “Elliott” had brought meter-high snow, temperatures in the double-digit minus range and hurricane-force winds to large parts of the USA over the Christmas weekend.
The occupants did not always survive the arctic winter storm unscathed. At least 50 people have died in the United States in the past few days due to the extreme cold. In Erie County alone, 28 people have died so far, as Poloncarz also explained on Twitter. Many victims are also feared in other regions around the Great Lakes in the north-east of the USA and on the border with Canada. Especially there, pedestrians and drivers lost their orientation in the dense snow flurry. In addition, hundreds of thousands of households were affected by power outages.
The authorities are currently assuming that more victims are to be expected who are buried and frozen to death in the car or at home under the snow masses. “Unfortunately, we’re still recovering bodies,” the Buffalo police chief told CNN. According to the broadcaster ABC, more than 52 people have died nationwide in connection with winter storm “Elliott”. CNBC put the death toll at 64.
“My heart goes out to those who lost loved ones this holiday weekend,” President Joe Biden wrote on Twitter. New York Governor Kathy Hochul spoke of a “historic snowstorm”. She had already declared a state of emergency for the state of New York last week. President Biden pledged federal support to the state.
The Arctic cold front also messed up the Christmas plans of many travelers: According to the flight data website “FlightAware”, more than 10,000 flights were canceled from Friday to Sunday. For the coming days, the weather service predicted milder temperatures for the central west and east of the country.
