About 50 people lost their lives in the winter storm across the United States and Canada, officials announced on Monday.
In the United States, 47 people lost their lives, with frost, ice and snow hitting Buffalo, New York state the hardest.
In Canada, four people died in British Columbia when a bus overturned on an icy road.
The magnitude of the winter storm is unprecedented, and its effects are being felt from Canada to the Rio Grande.
In Erie County, which also includes Buffalo, 25 people died in the storm, a county official said, warning residents to stay indoors.
Forecasters predict the storm will subside over the next couple of days, but have urged people not to travel anywhere unless absolutely necessary.
The havoc caused by the storm continues for several days, but power is gradually restored.
As of Sunday afternoon, fewer than 200,000 customers were without electricity in the United States. At the height of the storm, 1.7 million U.S. households were without power, the AP reported.
Thousands of flights have been cancelled, preventing many people from visiting relatives for Christmas, and traffic has been disrupted across the country.
More than 15,000 flights have been canceled in the United States in recent days due to extreme weather conditions, with at least 1,600 canceled on Monday, according to information published on the “Flightaware.com” website.
“This will go down in history as Buffalo’s most devastating storm. It’s like entering a war zone,” New York Governor Cathy Hocully told reporters Sunday night. She warned that it is still dangerous for people to be outside.
The cold hardest hit the state of Montana, where the air temperature dropped to -45 degrees Celsius.
In Canada, the winter storm hit the provinces of Ontario and Quebec hardest.
Nearly 120,000 customers were still without electricity in Quebec on Sunday.
Heavy snow in Japan has claimed the lives of 17 people
Heavy snow and related traffic problems and accidents left 17 people dead and more than 90 injured in Japan over a ten-day period, officials said on Monday.
Thousands of households in Japan are without electricity.
In recent days, it has snowed heavily on the west coast of Japan and in the Hokkaido region of northern Japan.
A blanket of snow nearly a meter thick fell in several areas within 24 hours. Forecasters have urged people to stay at home if possible as cars are stuck in snow on roads in many places.
Many people were injured during the clearing of snow from the roofs or were trapped in the snow that fell from the roofs.
Meteorologists predict that the heavy snowfall will cease in the next few days.
It is strictly forbidden to use, copy or reproduce the materials published on iAuto.lv in other Internet portals, mass media or otherwise treat the materials published on iAuto.lv without the written authorization of EON SIA.
