The toll is growing across the Atlantic. A winter storm, carrying icy winds and sweeping the central and eastern United States for days, killed more than 30 people and left tens of thousands of Americans without power on Christmas Day.
Thirty-two deaths have been confirmed in nine states, including 13 in Erie County, New York, which includes the city of Buffalo, where snowdrifts reached up to three meters in height. high in places.
Some victims were found in cars and others on the street in the middle of the snow.
Since Wednesday evening, the United States has been hit by this storm of rare intensity, whose polar winds have caused heavy snowfall, especially in the Great Lakes region.
Back to normal “by the middle of next week”
“It’s not the Christmas we wanted”said Mark Poloncarz, responsible for Erie County, who fears that more deaths will soon be counted in his county. “There are people stuck in their cars for more than two days and others in houses where the temperatures are freezing”he warned.
A travel ban was imposed in this region on Friday but hundreds of people still found themselves stranded in their vehicles. The emergency services went from car to car on Sunday to see “if they find bodies”described Mark Poloncarz on CNN.
However, temperatures are expected to return “to seasonal normal by the middle of next week”according to the NWS.
48,000 homes still without electricity
“It’s a major crisis”acknowledged New York State Governor Kathy Hochul, a native of Buffalo, who deployed the National Guard. “I have experienced all the major winter storms of the last 60 years”she launched. “This is the worst. »
Electricity will not be completely restored in Buffalo before Monday, December 26, warned Mark Poloncarz, calling on residents not to leave their homes, the roads remaining impassable.
Between 30 and 60 cm of snow were still expected to fall overnight, according to the latest bulletin from the US Weather Service (NWS). “The winds are so strong” that the snow forms like ” sand dunes “it is ” crazy “described Saturday to AFP Ali Lawson, 34, who has lived in Buffalo for eight years.
More than 48,000 homes were still without power Sunday on the East Coast, where severe weather initially left some 150,000 homes without power, according to Poweroutage.us.
More than 12,000 flights canceled over the weekend
More than 3,000 flights were canceled on Sunday, adding to around 3,500 more canceled on Saturday and another 6,000 on Friday, according to tracking sites Flightaware.com.
A bit everywhere in American cities, such as Denver or Chicago, shelters have been opened to accommodate people in need to allow them to warm up and protect them from the risk of hypothermia.
In El Paso, Texas, desperate migrants from Mexico huddled for warmth in churches, schools and a civic center, teacher and volunteer Rosa Falcon told AFP. But some chose to stay outside in freezing temperatures because they feared they would come to the attention of immigration authorities, she added.
