A deadly blizzard swept across the northeastern United States on Christmas Day.
According to the TV channel WSOC TV the severe storm claimed more than 50 lives over the weekend. 20 of the deaths occurred in Buffalo, which is located on Lake Erie in western New York near the Canadian border, NTB reports.
In recent days, the area has been hit by heavy snow, extreme cold and hurricane-force winds.
Among those confirmed dead is 22-year-old Anndel Taylor.
– She was scared
The family told Channel 9 that Taylor was driving home from work when the blizzard hit the city of Buffalo in New York on December 23-24.
He made the all-time Christmas card mistake
– I don’t think we realized how bad it was. We didn’t watch the news and we didn’t know what was going on in Buffalo,” Taylor’s sister Shawnequa Brown told WSOC-TV.
The 22-year-old shared some of his moments in a family chat. There she said that she was stuck and the snowdrifts kept getting bigger and bigger.
DEAD: Anndel Taylor (22) waved a final goodbye to family from the car. Hours later, she was found dead. Photo: GoFundMe
sea View
In what would be her last video to the family, she showed the ravages of the storm and it can look like her car window is covered in snow.
– She told my sister she was scared, says Brown.
Found dead
Taylor is said to have called the 911 number for help, but they were said to have been unable to reach her in bad weather.
According to NTB, virtually every fire truck in the state has had to park due to slippery roads and streets. Governor Kathy Hochchul calls the storm “the blizzard of the century.”
– It’s definitely too early to say it’s over, he said on Monday and stressed that, according to meteorologists, there is still snow on the way.
– Dad could die today
– She sat in her car for several hours/days which resulted in the snow settling on the roof of the car so she couldn’t get out, writes her sister in a GoFundMe fundraiser created to cover funeral expenses.
The 22-year-old’s mother, Wanda Brown Steele, tells WSOC-TV that her daughter planned to sleep through the storm and then get back on her feet.
It never happened. Taylor was found dead inside his own car, after what his family say could have lasted up to 18 hours.
– We cry a lot
The cause of death has not yet been determined, but hypothermia has been mentioned. Mora thinks it could be coal poisoning.
Selling farts in Christmas balls
Taylor didn’t have time to celebrate Christmas with her family or her 23rd birthday.
– We cry a lot. She still has some packages under the tree, Brown tells the local TV channel.
On GoFundMe, Brown writes that the family is now trying to organize a funeral to be able to say their final goodbyes.
– Let’s do what’s right for her, when she has left us so too soon.
Farevarsel
According to NTB, deaths have been reported in eight other states. The storm affected much of the United States, from the Great Lakes, near Canada in the north, to the Rio Grande, which is located on the Mexican border, in the south.
About 60% of US residents spent the Christmas weekend in an area where a warning had been issued, the news agency said.
– One of the worst things I’ve ever seen
Tens of thousands of families were left without electricity even during the holiday period.
US authorities have urged many of their citizens to stay indoors. Not only because of the bitter cold, but also because many roads are very slippery.
Emergency vehicles also had great difficulty getting through, NTB reports.
Locked in car
Many must have set off on slippery winter roads without winter tyres. This leads to many accidents and in several places the authorities have introduced driving bans.
The doctor fell off his chair
In several places, people have been found dead in stuck cars, NTB reports.
– Some were found in cars, others were found in roadside snowdrifts. We know there are people who have been locked in their cars for more than two days, says a spokesman for Erie County authorities in New York, according to the news agency.
