WASHINGTON, Dec 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The death toll in the New York city of Buffalo has risen to 28, with thousands still without power amid a monster winter storm that has battered North America.
Across the US, at least 62 people have died in weather-related incidents.
While the largest death toll has been reported in New York, storm-related deaths have been reported across the US, including Vermont, Ohio, Missouri, Wisconsin, Kansas, and Colorado.
At a news conference on Tuesday, officials in New York’s Erie County – which includes Buffalo – said that the death toll is expected to rise as search and rescue operations continue. The 28 confirmed dead were all in Buffalo.
Officials in New York have said that emergency personnel were forced to go from car to car searching for survivors of the storm, sometimes finding bodies in cars and snow banks.
Looting has been reported in parts of Buffalo city during the emergency.
Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gragmalia said that looting is “still going on”. Four people have so far been arrested.
“This isn’t people stealing food and medicine and diapers,” he said. “They’re destroying stores. They’re stealing televisions, couches, whatever else they can get their hands on. They’re opportunists.”
The winter storm has also forced the cancellation of thousands of flights, including about 4,800 on Tuesday morning alone. Thousands of passengers have been left stranded at airports across the country.
Conditions are now expected to improve, with very little snowfall on Tuesday and slightly warmer weather on the way.
Officials warned that the warming temperatures in the region might lead to additional problems, including flooding as snow thaws.
In Canada, the central province of Ontario and Quebec, in the north-east, bore the brunt of the storm.
Ontario’s Prince Edward County, along Lake Ontario, declared a state of emergency and had to take snow ploughs off the streets because they were in danger of getting stuck, Mayor Steve Ferguson said.
Four fatalities earlier occurred when a bus rolled over on an icy road near the town of Merritt, in the western province of British Columbia. — NNN-AGENCIES
