32 People Killed In US Blizzard, 2 Lakh Without electricity

NEW YORK: Millions of Americans experienced danger and sorrow on Christmas Day due to a severe winter storm. At least 32 people died as a result of the severe weather on Sunday as regions of the eastern United States were besieged by heavy snow and bitter cold.

In western New York's Buffalo, where a snowstorm trapped the city and prevented rescue personnel from getting to the worst-affected districts, a crisis scenario developed.

In Buffalo, where eight-foot (2.4-meter) snow drifts and power outages have created potentially fatal conditions, Governor Kathy Hochul of New York remarked, "It is (like) travelling to a war zone, and the vehicles along the sides of the highways are alarming."

Hochul advised everyone in the region to stay indoors and told reporters Sunday night that the situation was still "extremely dangerous and life-threatening" for the locals.

While the five-day storm that featured blizzard conditions and fierce winds caused more than 200,000 people to lose power across many eastern states on Christmas morning and disrupted many more people's travel plans, it began to abate.

The weekend's severe weather left residents in homes covered in ice and snow and stranded holiday travellers with thousands of flights cancelled. It also sent wind chill temperatures below freezing in all 48 contiguous US states.

In nine states, including Erie County, where Buffalo is located, 32 weather-related fatalities have been officially reported; however, officials have warned that figure is likely to climb.

In the extremely snowy Buffalo region, officials recounted unusually hazardous conditions, including hours-long whiteouts and bodies found in cars and behind snow banks as rescuers tried to find the people who needed help.

A driving prohibition was still in place for the entirety of Erie County, and the city's international airport is also closed until Tuesday.

According to a senior county official, some people were not anticipated to get power back until Tuesday because of frozen electric substations; one frozen substation was reportedly buried under 18 feet of snow.

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