At least 50 people are feared to have been killed as a huge winter storm continues to pummel the United States. According to The Sun, Thousands of Americans still remain without power and drivers have been found dead in their cars after being left stranded on snow-covered highways and interstates.
Temperatures plunged to a dangerously cold -53F in Sioux Falls, South Dakota when the wind chill was taken into account in the run-up to Christmas, according to the National Weather Service. At least 46 people in the US are feared to have died, with four additional deaths reported in British Columbia, Canada.
Officials revealed that 13 people had been found dead in Buffalo, New York, amid the bomb cyclone and warned that the death toll is likely to rise. William “Romello” Clay was named as one of the victims after being found dead.
He vanished in the snowstorm on Friday after leaving his home to go to the store. Bodies were reportedly found in their vehicles on highways along Cheektowaga, New York. At least 12 victims have been reported in Erie County, with the ages ranging between 26 and 93. Officials have revealed that 10 people in Ohio have been killed, while six people died in crashes in Missouri, Kansas, and Kentucky.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said almost every fire truck in Buffalo was stranded and the airport would be shut down through Monday. “We’re in a war. We’re at war with Mother Nature,” the governor said at a Sunday morning news briefing. “And she’s been hitting us with everything she has.” Hochul said the storm would go down as the worst in Buffalo’s history. She feared the death toll would rise.
Hochul said that there were people that still need to be rescued. Two people died in their suburban Cheektowaga, New York, homes Friday when emergency crews could not reach them in time to treat their medical conditions, and another died in Buffalo.
Four more deaths were confirmed overnight, bringing the Erie County total to seven. County Executive Mark Poloncarz warned there may be more deaths. “Some were found in cars, some were found on the street in snowbanks,” said Poloncarz. “We know there are people who have been stuck in cars for more than 2 days.”
Freezing conditions and day-old power outages had Buffalonians scrambling to get out of their homes to anywhere that had heat. But with city streets under a thick blanket of white, that wasn’t an option for people like Jeremy Manahan, who charged his phone in his parked car after almost 29 hours without electricity.
“There’s one warming shelter, but that would be too far for me to get to. I can’t drive, obviously, because I’m stuck,” Manahan said. “And you can’t be outside for more than 10 minutes without getting frostbit.”
Ditjak Ilunga of Gaithersburg, Maryland, was on his way to visit relatives in Hamilton, Ontario, for Christmas with his daughters Friday when their SUV was trapped in Buffalo. Unable to get help, they spent hours with the engine running in the vehicle buffeted by wind and nearly buried in snow.
