Hurricane-force winds caused blizzard conditions in Buffalo, New York. Emergency response attempts were delayed...
Digital Desk: At least 18 people were murdered as a freezing winter storm sailed over the country, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses and scaring millions of people about the likelihood of Christmas Eve blackouts. Hurricane-force winds caused whiteout conditions in Buffalo, New York, as the storm released its full fury. The city's international airport was closed, and emergency response efforts were halted.
Officials in the United States have blamed the storm's impact on exposure, automobile accidents, a falling tree branch, and other factors. At least three individuals died in the Buffalo region, including two who had medical issues in their homes but couldn't be saved because emergency services couldn't get to them due to historic blizzard conditions.
More than 2,700 flights have been cancelled as a result of the winter storm that has affected numerous regions of the United States, and thousands of airlines have adjusted their routes to avoid an emergency-like situation. The last-minute cancellation caused considerable confusion at the airports as families returned home for the Christmas holidays.
Deep snow, single-digit temperatures, and day-old power outages brought Buffalo residents fleeing to any location with heat on Saturday. Buffalo Niagara International Airport will be closed until Monday morning, according to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, and nearly every fire engine in Buffalo is stranded in the snow.
Blizzards, freezing rain, and severe temperatures knocked off power from Maine to Seattle, and a major electrical grid operator warned the 65 million people it serves in the eastern United States that rolling blackouts might be necessary.
PJM Interconnection, based in Pennsylvania, said power plants are having problems operating in the cold weather and has encouraged residents in 13 states to save electricity until at least Christmas morning.
The Tennessee Valley Authority, which serves 10 million people in Tennessee and parts of six other states, authorised local power firms to implement planned outages, but the measure was lifted by Saturday afternoon. A staged power outage delayed the start of the Tennessee Titans' game in Nashville by an hour.
More than 273,000 electric customers were without power throughout the six New England states on Saturday, with Maine being the hardest hit, and some utilities indicating it might be days before power is restored. In North Carolina, 169,000 people were without power Saturday afternoon, down from a peak of almost 485,000, but utility officials warned rolling blackouts will last for "a few days."
According to Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, two people died in their homes in the Buffalo suburb of Cheektowaga on Friday because emergency responders were unable to reach them in time to treat their medical issues. Another person died in Buffalo, he said, and the blizzard was maybe "the worst storm in our community's history."
Poloncarz stated that it took ambulances more than three hours to make a single journey to a hospital. As of Saturday, 28 inches (71 cm) of snow has fallen in Buffalo, according to forecasters.
Last month, a single storm dumped a record 6 feet (1.8 metres) of snow on places just south of Buffalo. The recent storm took out the furnace at Brian LaPrade's Buffalo house, causing inside temperatures to drop below 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius).
Leave A Comment