The president of the United StatesJoe Bidenhe has declared State of emergency in New York, on the night of this Monday December 26, due to the presence of the Winter Storm Elliot, rated “once in a generation” by the National Weather Service (NWS) and gone at least 50 dead.
This was reported by Kathy Hochul, Governor of New York, in a statement through social media.
“@POTUS (Joe Biden) approved our request for a federal declaration of emergency for disaster as we help Western New York recover from this historic blizzard,” he wrote on Twitter.
The storm has caused freezing temperatures from the Great Lakes, near Canada, to the Rio Grande, on the border with Mexico.
Heavy snow and hurricane winds they have left thousands of people trapped in their homes and on the roads, thousands of passengers stranded Good night for the cancellation of flights and thousands of homes without electricity due to the collapse of the electricity infrastructure.
US President Joe Biden said his “heart goes out to those who lost loved ones this holiday weekend.”
Buffalo, at the center of the damage
According to the local press report, more than 50 people died within days of the storm’s ravages, approximately halfway through northeastern New York state, where Buffalo is located.
The death toll in that state stands at 27, including 18 in Buffalo, although authorities expect to find more dead in the coming hours. Bodies were found in vehicles, houses and on the street.
It had been decades since this city, bordering Canada and accustomed to the cold, hadn’t experienced such a harsh winter. It has been completely collapsed by snow and its airport, which provides cover for the famous Niagara Falls, remains closed.
Hundreds of National Guard, Police and Firefighters were deployed to the area.
In addition to New York, cold-related deaths or accidents have been reported in the states of Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Wisconsin, according to local media.
In Ohio, four people were killed and several massively injured accident on the highway in which about 50 vehicles were involved.
Sad and cold Christmas
More than 200 million Americans, about 60% of the population, have faced some form of warning or winter weather warning and temperatures dropped sharply below normal from the Rockies east to the Appalachians.
“Much of the eastern United States will remain frozen on Monday and begin a moderation trend on Tuesday,” the weather service said on Monday, a holiday in the country.
The agency warned that in some areas it is still “dangerous” travel by road due to snow, but expects conditions to improve within a couple of days.
elliot provoked thousands of flight delays and the cancellation of 20% of flights on Christmas Eve and Christmas Eve, when thousands of people were trying to reunite with their families.
Again this Monday more than 5 thousand 300 flights were cancelledaccording to the Flight Aware portal record.
With information from EFE.
