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The “blizzard of the century” is not over yet, the governor of New York warns

Since Wednesday evening, the United States has been battered by a storm of rare intensity, whose polar winds have caused heavy snowfall, especially in New York state.

The “blizzard of the century” that killed at least 25 people in western New York’s Erie County is not over yet, Gov. Kathy Hochul warned Monday. . The region of Buffalo, the capital of Erie County, is the hardest hit in the United States, recording polar cold and heavy snowfall blocking traffic.

“It’s way too early to say it’s over,” Kathy Hochul said at a news conference, adding that up to a foot of snow is still expected in the region.

Although the intensity of the storm is no longer the intensity of recent days, it is “still dangerous to be outside”, she warned.

The governor said it was the worst storm since 1977 and would go down in history as “the blizzard of the 22nd”.

At least 47 died across the United States

Western New York, accustomed to cold and storms, was buried under feet of snow over the Christmas weekend, suffering sub-polar temperatures since last week.

The death toll in Erie County, which includes Buffalo, was already 13 as of Sunday evening, but local services have since confirmed the deaths of 12 more people, “bringing the total number of blizzard fatalities to 25,” it said. Monday morning, Mark Poloncarz , in charge of this county.

Some people have been found dead in their cars or outside, and others have died of cardiac arrest while trying to clear snow while temperatures are still freezing, he said. He said he expected more victims to be found gradually.

The total number of deaths confirmed by authorities in nine US states is at least 47 dead. In Ohio, traffic accidents related to this bad weather killed nine people.

“Heartbreaking”

Buffalo is still largely blocked due to the impressive amounts of snowfall. Footage from the center showed cars across the road, covered in snow.

“Please, unless you’re part of the emergency department, don’t drive,” asked Marc Poloncarz. “Conditions are bad.”

A travel ban was still in effect Monday in the western part of the county, but it was being defied by some residents, he lamented. “What we’re doing today is getting people to doctors, nurses and hospitals,” County Sheriff John Garcia told CNN Monday morning. – The roads are finally starting to be passable because the wind has died down.

During the height of the storm, rescuers were no longer able to reach people in need, such as those stranded in their cars or at home without power.

“It’s heartbreaking to get calls from families with children saying they’re frozen,” John Garcia said.

Power has been restored to more than 13,000 homes in the past 24 hours, Mark Poloncarz said Monday morning, but more than 12,000 are still without power. Some will not be able to be connected to the network until Tuesday, he warned.

2,700 flights were canceled on Monday

Since Wednesday night, the United States has been battered by this storm of rare intensity, whose icy winds have brought heavy snowfall, especially in the Great Lakes region. Tens of millions of Americans saw their Christmas weekend turned upside down by massive power outages, impassable roads and thousands of canceled flights, causing chaos at airports.

As of Monday, more than 2,600 flights are still canceled in the United States, according to the monitoring site Flightaware.com. Conditions are expected to improve only gradually as the week progresses.

The weather “will continue to cause hazardous travel conditions locally for the next two days,” the US Weather Service (NWS) said in its latest national bulletin.

“Most of the eastern United States will remain in freezing conditions throughout the day Monday before a more moderate trend sets in beginning Tuesday,” he added.

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