severe winter storm kills at least 17

MATTHEW HATCHER / Getty Images via AFP

Detroit Fire Department firefighters attempt to clear ice from their fire hoses after a severe drop in temperatures caused by the major storm sweeping across the United States that is expected to last through the weekend -end of Christmas.

UNITED STATES – Unsurprisingly, for many Americans, the Christmas weekend was turned upside down by the severe winter storm currently affecting North America. Accompanied by extreme temperatures, the storm caused massive power outages and caused the death of more than a dozen people, according to the latest official report.

In Ohio, for example, four people have died in storm-related crashes, Gov. Mike DeWine said. In total, authorities have confirmed at least 17 deaths, across eight US states.

And nearly a million homes were without power on Saturday at midday, according to the Poweroutage.us site, especially in North Carolina and Maine, where temperatures were (very) largely negative.

The pressure on the power grid was also extremely high due to the very low temperatures. The operator in ten states in the northeastern United States, PJM, called on the population to reduce their consumption all day Saturday, in order to avoid cuts.

Of the “hundreds” people stuck

In many states, the roads have become impassable or very dangerous, causing sometimes fatal accidents. “In the most affected places, there are no emergency services available, including in the city of Buffalo”, in the state of New York, said Saturday morning at a press conference Mark Poloncarz, responsible for the county of Erie. Two people died of medical problems because they could not be rescued, he said.

The day before, a travel ban had been pronounced in this region. But hundreds of people still found themselves trapped in their vehicles, “including people who tried to go out late last night”Mr. Poloncarz said on Saturday.

The National Guard has been sent to rescue these people, who are stranded in extremely dangerous conditions. “Don’t leave your vehicle!” » tweeted local weather services. “Tie a piece of clothing to your antenna or window to indicate that you need help”they recommended.

2,300 flights canceled on December 24

Since Wednesday evening, the central and eastern United States have been hit by this storm of rare intensitywhose polar winds also caused heavy snowfall, especially in the Great Lakes region. Transport was severely disrupted, just as tens of millions of Americans were looking to travel to join their families for the holiday season.

More than 5,500 flights were canceled on Friday. Which represented 20% of air traffic that day, tweeted US Transportation Minister Pete Buttigieg. More than 2,300 flights were again canceled on Saturday, notably at Detroit and Minneapolis airports, according to the specialist site flightaware. But according to the United States Aviation Authority (FAA) “The strongest disturbances are behind us, and companies and airports will gradually recover”explained the American minister.

The storm is expected to last through the weekend, before temperatures return to seasonal norms by the middle of next week, the US Weather Service (NWS) said.

Until then, “If you must travel or be outdoors, prepare for extreme cold by wearing several layers of clothing, and covering as much skin as possible”he wrote on Saturday. “In places, being outside could cause frostbite within minutes. »

Canada was also affected by the storm, where all provinces had weather alerts in place. Hundreds of thousands of people were without power in Ontario and Quebec, and airports in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal were affected by flight cancellations.

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